Bhagavad katha day 6
Hare Krishna Utsav
30-12-2023

Sri Pancha Tattva ki jai! Pancha Tattva, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is one and Nityananda Prabhu is the second of the Pancha Tattva. Then Advaita Acharyais the third, Srivas Thakur the fourth and then Gadadhar Pandit is the fifth, Pancham (fifth) of the Pancha Tattva.

ajanu lambita bhujau kanakavadhatau?sankirtanaika pitarau kamalayataksau?visvambharau dvija varau yuga dharma palau?vande jagat priyakaro karunavatarau
Chaitanya Bhagavad 1.1.1)

Translation
I offer my respects unto Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, whose arms extend down to Their knees, who have golden yellow complexions, and who inaugurated the congregational chanting of the Holy Names. Their eyes resemble the petals of a lotus; They are the maintainers of all living entities; They are the best of brahmanas, the protectors of religious principles for this age, the benefactors of the universe, and the most merciful of all incarnations

The lord manifested himself in these five truths. This happened five hundred years ago. Sri Sri Pancha Tattva ki jai!

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare hare

Somethings not good. The Pancha Tattva who are the five forms of the lord, they established the Sankirtan movement and they are all the merciful incarnations of the lord. They have all looked upon all of us, and upon this world, with their glance of mercy. In what form have they done this? The lord has innumerable forms

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare hare

This is love, this is only love, this Mahamantra is love. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Panca Tattva have come from Goloka. Golokam ca parityajya lokanam trana karanat

golokam ca parityajya lokanam trana karanat kalau gauranga rupena lila lavanya vigrahah.

Traslation
In the Kali-yuga, I will leave Goloka and to save the people of kali yuga

We are the people of Kaliyuga and the Pancha Tattva showed mercy upon us crooked people. How? By giving us this Hare Krishna Mahamantra which is the treasure of divine love. What is this Hard Krishna Mahamantra? Did you hear anything, what is it? Yes, it is the treasure of divine love. Do you want to become rich? Yes of course, thats why you all said loudly, ‘Haribol!’

So earn this treasure which is the treasure of the holy name, earn this treasure. Without the treasure of the holy name, this life is worthless Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘ whoever does not have the treasure of the holy name, their life is worthless and they are poor.’ You all become rich and make your lives successful. This word Saphala means successful and there is another word, Viphala.

Saphala means with phala, fruitful life, Hari Hari. This treasure of the holy name is making the whole world rich and along with this, people are becoming happy. You will all say tomorrow, or maybe not tomorrow but the day after you will all say ‘happy new year.’ But the Hare Krishna devotees all over the world, they will not only wish you a happy new year, but they will practically show you how to become happy.

How can you become happy, you may ask? So they will tell you, ‘chant Hare Krishna and be happy.’

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare hare

The world is becoming happy and satisfied by chanting the holy names and performing kirtan. The Pancha Tattva,

Jaya sri krishna chaitanya prabhu nityananda sri adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda

The gaura bhakta vrinda’s are also included in this Panca Tattva Mantra. The Panca Tattva is only complete when the Gaura Bhakta Vrinda’s are there. You are also included in the Pancha Tattva, or you will be one day. So please become Gaura Bhakta’s, devotees of Gauranga Mahaprabhu! Gauranga!

Gauranga Panduranga, Gauranga Panduranga, Panduranga Gauranga, Panduranga Gauranga.

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
(Bhagavad Gita 4.8)

Translation
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

Just in the beginning of Kaliyuga, the lord comes in five forms of the Panca Tattva and they have done just this, and they continue to do so. Paritranaya sadhunam. Saint Tukaram Maharaja ki Jai! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came five hundred years ago and it is said that he even went to Mumbai. After this the lord went to Nasik and on the way was this pure city Pune. Next to Pune is Dehu, Hari Hari.

After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s disappearance, sixty to seventy years passed and after this Tukaram Maharaja appeared, he was born. One day or rather it was nighttime, and he had a dream in which he was ordered and he got initiated. Tukaram Maharaja says, that Raghava Chaitanya, Keshava Chaitanya gave him initiation.

Tukaram Maharaja is telling us this and some Gaudiya Acharya’s and some Gaudiya Vaishnava’s understand that it wasn’t anybody else who came into Tukaram Maharaja’s dream to give him initiation. It was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself, who came and initiated Tukaram Maharaja! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

Chaitanya Maharaja must be the initiating Guru of Tukaram Maharaja because Tukaram Maharaja said ‘Raghava Chaitanya, Keshava Chaitanya.’ Mahaprabhu is Raghava Chaitanya and he is also Keshava Chaitanya as Raghava means Rama and Keshava means Krishna. At one time in Jagannatha Puri, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya Darshan of his six armed form.

This Darshan has six arms and in two hands the lord had a flute and in another set of arms the lord held a bow and arrow. In the third pair on hands the lord is holding a water pot and stick and so the water pot and stick represent Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the other arms with bow and arrow are Krishna. The arm with a flute is Sri Krishna and Tukaram Maharaja was a Babaji because he was a Sannyasi and Sannyasi’s are also called Babaji.

Hari Hari. Tukaram Maharaja’s teachings and his feelings of devotion, this is all in line with the teachings of the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage. As it is Tukaram Maharaja had written four thousand abhangs, poems of devotion which were filled with feelings of devotion. There is one poem called Govinda Govinda which is love very much and I often sing this.

Therefore today I thought that because Tukaram Maharaja is here with us in his deity form, we can offer him his own poem of devotion by singing. Om Namo Bhagavate Hari Hari, this is how we chant in our Pandharpura temple. When we dont say this, what do we not only say? Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. We don’t just say this but we also, alongside saying this, we say ‘Om Namo Namah.’

I offer my obeisances unto whom? Bhagavate, the supreme lord Bhagavan. And which Bhagavan is this? Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Why is the lord called Vasudeva? Because he is the son of Vasudeva. So how many sons did Vasudeva have? Well, initially there were eight from which only two survived and when they survived, the seventh son was Balaram. Jai Balaram!

The eighth was Sri Krishna. Krishna Kahnaiya lal ki Jai! So we say Om Namo Bhagavate vasudevaya and in this way we offer our obeisances to Sri Krishna and Balaram. I have said so once or twice before, Krishna and Balaram were together in Vrindavan and then they left together for Mathura. When they left Mathura they were together and then they went to Ujjain for education in Gurukul where they were together.

Then both Krishna and Balaram were fighting against Jarasandha in war. When they ran away, they ran away together from the battle, and they were called Ranchor, because both ran away from the battlefield together. They were both welcomed back to Dwarka together and from Dwarka the lord comes further towards Pandharpura dham.

Therefore in Pandharpura and in the temple there are both Krishna and Balaram. The older brother is there also, both of their Darshan can be had there. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, we have prepared a presentation for you and it is a TPT presentation which means that there will be audio and video. You can watch and listen, because we are giving you Darshan of what you are listening to.

The lord’s Darshan Pandharpur starts with the Kakad Arati. Uttissttha Uttissttha Govinda Trai Lokyam Manggalam Kuru.

Translation
Wake up Govinda and bring auspiciousness to the three worlds

The Pujari’s chant these Mantra’s and tell the lord to wake up. In Vrindavan, Yashoda ‘songs utthi utthi Gopala, wake up Gopal.’ The darshan of lorc Vitthal in the Kakad Arati is also called Mangal Arati, Mangal Arati, like Mangalam kuri. The days starts with Mangal Arati, have any of you ever gone to take Darshan at Kakkad Arati? Mangal Arati takes place in all the temples around the world, but Pandharpura is the only place where the curtains do not close after Mangal Arati.

The curtain stays open and the lord has Abhishek, bathing in front of everyone. The lord’s Darshan during Abhishek and then the lord is dressed and decorated the in various jewellery. The lord is Natwar, Nat (dance).

barhapidam nata vara vapuh karnayoh karnikaram
bibhrad vasah kanaka kapisam vaijayantim ca malam
(Srimad Bhagavad 10.21.5)

Translation
Wearing a peacock feather ornament upon His head, blue karnikara flowers on His ears, a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanti garland, Lord Krsna exhibited His transcendental form as the greatest of dancers as He entered the forest of Vrindavana

When this happens only then can you see it and such a rate darshan becomes possible only in Pandharpura. There is also one temple of the Kshira chora Gopinatha temple and at Badrikashrama. there are only a few places where you can take darshan of the lord’s being bathed and dressed. Then you can understand that when you see all this you become a confidential friend of the lord.

You get the opportunity of becoming an acquaintance of the lord and you will not be told ‘hey you get out. You have no right to be here and to take Darshan.’ This kind of thing does not happen in Pandharpura and when Abhishek is going on- Prabhupada used to say, ‘the lord is offered ‘baal bhoga.’ The lord becomes a small child in the early morning hours, baal gopal.

In the afternoon, the Lord becomes older immediately, and therefore he takes Raj bhog like a king. He honours his lunch Prashad like a king. In the same way Panduranga Vitthal also becomes a small child and when Krishna was a small child in Gokul, what would he be doing in the morning? The Lord still better in the morning every day in Vrindavan, and so when it is time for Mangal Arati everyday in the morning, that is the time of the lord’s butter stealing activities.

The lord loves butter very much. ‘Oh mother, I love butter very much and I do not like anything else. Just keep feeding me butter.’ So in Pandharpura during Abhishek in the mornings, the lord is a child and because it is the time for his butter stealing activities, what is it that we do during the Abhishek? We feed him a ball of butter and the same time the lord is being offered Arati so it is a very special Darshan.

This is because the lord is accessible during this time when his Arati is going on, and this is because the Lord has left all his other things that he is doing, all the busi-ness, and he’s coming, just to give Darshan. And he comes in front of you, and he is amongst you at that time and when he is fed the ball of butter at this time, the devotees are inviting you, ‘look look, take Darshan off this butter thief.’

And those who have come to take Darshan, their mind is concentrated upon this scene of the lord stealing butter and there is offering of Arati to him also at the time of his stealing. Those days are no more, but the warkari’s, the pilgrims used to go to take Darshan in Dhindi or other places. Do you know how they would take Darshan? They would hug the deity of the lord.

Now times have changed and people are changing for the worse but you all and us also, we can not only just take Darshan of the lord’s, but you can touch him also. This opportunity is not possible anywhere else but only here where there is Vitthal. Panduranga Panduranga. Vitthal’s Darshan can be taken like this but in other places, a whole tent full of people may be taking Darshan together, hundred at a time or thousand at a time, but here it is only one at a time to take Darshan of Vitthal.

When it is your turn, even if it is only for a few moments, it will be just you and the supreme lord, alone. The lord gives Darshan to each and every person individually, not a wholesale five hundred or one thousand Darshan for everybody together. In each Darshan Arati it is one at a time Darshan for everyone and such a Darshan is an instruction in one sense. Ot should be so and it is an instruction to those who take Pandharinath’s Darshan.

The lord is very personal and this very lord is he who was witnessed by Tukaram Maharaja. I have given a description a few times of this. The supreme lord came from Dwarka and stood there. Well actually a lot happened, including a conversation between the supreme lord and Pundalik. And what a dialogue it was between the two. Pundalik requested the lord to stay there and the lord stood there upon his request.

The supreme lord who used to move about going here and there, that Dwarakadish is not moving about. He is now just standing there in a deity form but of course he still moves about and walks and he has relationships with many devotees. That could be Janabai or Tukaram, the lord has a personal relationship with unlimited devotees.

We think that the lord is just standing there but Tukaram Maharaj is trying to say something which is not hard to understand. He is speaking about how the lord came to Pandharpura. The lord says ‘aham bhakta paradhino, I am dependant upon the will of my devotees.’ The lord is dependent upon the devotees, so when his devotee said ‘stand here,’ the lord stood there.

Tukaram Maharaja is saying that the deity of lord Vitthal has not been made by any sculptor and nor has the lord been installed, bought to life. Actually, there is no question of the lord being brought to life, the lord already has life in him and so there is no question of installing the lord and bringing him to life. Nobody has made this deity, not has it been installed in any way to be bought to life.

He had come one day to give Darshan to Pundalik, the lord had come from Dwaraka and he bought the atmosphere and mood of Dwaraka along with him with all it’s grandeur. So Hrishikesh which is a name of the lord, as is Dwarakdish, came to Pandharpura and if anyone says that a sculptor in Jaipur or anywhere else had made this deity of lord Vitthal, is there any brave person in here, who can say that this deity has been made by anyone?

If someone says that somebody has made this deity and it was transported to this place and someone did a life giving ceremony, then Tukaram Maharaja has said that that person’s mouth will become filled with ants. Dont you dare! Dont think like this and do not say this! The lord is sac cid ananda vigraha, he is full of eternity, knowledge, and blissfulness. So the Lord came and stood here on a brick and then he became Vitthal.

He will stay forever sac cid ananda vigraha, full of eternity, knowledge, and blissfulness or the Archa vigraha, the deity form, who we can worship and take Darshan of. Man mana bhava mad bhakto mad yaji mam namaskuru

man mana bhava mad bhakto
mad yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat parayanah
(Bhagavad Gita 9.34)

Translation
Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

Krishna has said this to all of us, ‘what should you all do? Man mana, engage your mind in always thinking of me, the supreme lord.’ So Panduranga Vitthal is giving us a chance to remember him right now and right here we are remembering him or at least we are trying to remember him. After hearing and speaking, one remembers which is natural.

Here also because there is speaking and hearing on the subject matter if the lord, there will be remembrance also. So the lord says man mana, remember be and mad bhakta, become my devotee and so we can become devotees of the deity and we can perform devotional service to the deity form of the lord in the deity form. So that is service to the deity because the deity is the supreme lord.

Then there is mad yaji, ‘worship me and offer me Arati and decorate me. Patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Offer me bhoga and if it is butter then that is the best. This is my choice, i prefer butter.’ Then there is mam namaskuru, offer your obeisances unto me.’ Krishna says at the end of the eighteenth chapter of Bhagavad Gita and this sloka is the promise of the lord to us.

And the lord has said that if you do these four things, man mana bhava mad bhaktomad yaji mam namaskuru. When Srila Prabhupada gave me Sannyasa in 1975, we are talking about December in Vrindavan, after my Sannyasa initiation, when I went to meet Srila Prabhupada, I was thinking Srila Prabhupada will order me to do this and so that.

Srila Prabhupada said ‘this is it, you just do four things, you just follow these four principles and then Srila Prabhupada said these very things that I have just spoken about. Man mana, Mad bhakto, Mad yaji and mam namaskuru. If you do this then what does the lord say? The lord says mam evaisyasi satyam te pratijane priyo ‘si me. So mam evaisyasi, if we meditate on the lord, if we become devotees of lord Vitthal, if we worship lord Vitthal and bow down to the lord, then what will the lord do?

The lord says ‘mam evaisyasi, you will attain me and you will come back to me.’ What Tukaram just said that he is going now, back to Vaikuntha, we will be able to do the same if we so these four items. Then the lord is saying, pratyam te, this is the truth. The Lord says at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, ‘I am speaking all this, and why am I saying this? ‘Priya asi, because you are dear to me.’

There on the battlefield, Krishna is instructing Arjuna, and so you all may be thinking that the lord is saying to Arjuna that he is dear to the lord. That is what the lord said, we also belong to the lord and we will always be his, Krishna loves you all. That is why he came to the material world from his home in the spiritual world, and he played so many pastimes here and he spoke Bhagavad Gita. Why? Because he loves you.

Also, Krishna continues doing so many different things and pastimes in his different incarnations for us all devotees. Not only for us here in Maharashtra but for all the devotees all over the world. The lord came to Pandharpura and he stayed there. Why did he stay there? Because he loves you all and he loves me. He glances up on all of us with mercy and he gives us his Darshan. He accepts our service and he also listens to our prayers and accepts our food offerings.

The lord in his Vitthal form, in the form of Panduranga also has a thousand names. Just like there is a thousand names of Vishnu, there is also a thousand names of Vitthal. Go to known by thousand names, they are extremely merciful. There are many devotees of Vitthal like Kurandar das, Kanak das who was from Karnataka and he was a high standing devotee of lord Vitthal.

He has preached about devotion to Vitthal and has glorified lord Vitthal around eight hundred years ago. Then there were the two Gyanadeva and Namadeva and then there was Ekanath Maharaja. Of course Tukaram Maharaja is also there. So in this way there are for big names of the foremost devotees of lord Vitthal. There are the warkari’s who go again and again to pilgrimage to take Darshan of the lord and come back home.

Because they go again and again whicb is called ‘waar am waar’ they are called Warkari. They go one time then two times then waar am waar, again and again. Therefore they become Warkari. So these Warkari’s go in procession and this is called dindi, the procession. Since the time of Gyanadeva Maharaja these processions have occurred and so the devotees go together and expand devotion to lord Vitthal.

Namadeva was present there also and from his name you can tell, that he has glorified the name if the lord to a great extent. The saints of Maharashtra went outside Maharashtra and Namadeva went all the way to Punjab to distribute devotion to lord Vitthal. Some saints stayed
in Maharashtra but Namadeva went to many other places in India to preach devotion of lord Vitthal.

Janabai became his disciple and she was also a unique devotee of lord Vitthal as the lord would help her in her household chores, we were showing you this yesterday. Namadeva Paidi, Paidi means stairs and so the stairs where Namadeva used were called Namadeva Paidi and so even the stairs were named after him. The deity he can see here is also Namadeva. He along with all the members of his family that included some fourteen different members including Janabai, went into Samdhi which was Jiwan Samadhi, spiritual suicide.

They made a well and they all jumped into it and then they were no more. They all go back to the lord to assist in his pastimes. This is the humility of these devotees, just like we were seeing a few days ago that Uddhava was praying to the lord. There is the grass, small bushes and creepers on top of Govardhan and Kusum Sarovar in Vrindavana, please make me one of these my lord. Because when the Gopis come there, they will tread on me, and in this way, I will be able to get some of the dust from their lotus feet my head.’

In the same Namadeva wanted that as many devotees who come for Darshan od lord Vitthal, the dust of all these devotees’s feet would fall on top of his head. So just near the Temple where everyone starts climbing up to the temple, that is the place where he left the world with all his family members and Janabai. That is why each person who goes to the Darshan Arati first bows down to Namadeva’s lotus feet.

His dedication and the way he made an offering of himself for the lord is commendable. He meditated upon Narayana, Vitthal and doing this, he left his body. Hari Hari. Ekanath Maharaja wrote a commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and he is famous for those words. We also heard about his character, the supreme lord would reside in his home. And the lord would help him in many ways.

And what can we say about the glories of Ekanatha Maharaja and these great soul’s? One day Ekanatha Maharaja went into the river Godawari to take his bath and as he was coming out after taking bath, someone who was eating betal nut spat upon him and so Ekanatha Maharaja went again to bathe. When he came out again, this sinful sinner who was of low caste, again spat upon the great devotee and this happened many times.

Ekanatha Maharaja’s tolerance of this injustice made this sinful person have a change of heart. He immediately fell upon the lotus feet of Ekanatha Maharaja and was begging forgiveness. At that time Ekanatha Maharaja said, ‘thank you, thank you so much. I am indebted to you. Because of you today I, Godavari Maiya ki jai!

Because of you, I got a chance to bathe in the Godawari, so many times and that is all thanks to you. That is why i am so grateful to you.’ At one time, the wicked Aurangzeb came to Pandharura along with one Alludin, then there was Khilji. They were all coming separately but all at the same time and their goal was to destroy Pandharpura, just like they did in many other places for almost one thousand years.

These Muslims have attacked India in all places again and again, but especially in North India, but because Shivaji Maharaja ki Jai! Due to Shivaji Maharaja, the Muslims could did not attack South India as much as they did North India. You may have gone to South India, how many old temples there are all over South India. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala.

Have you ever been there? There are many temples there, yes or no? That many temples they used to be in North India, just as many as there are there. They cannot be seen because to these Muslims because Shivaji Maharaja ki Jai! He was the one who stopped them and conquered them. There are so many more names like Aurangabad, this bad that bad Hyderabad, Faridabad, Gaziabad.

At that time lord Vitthal was in a place called Humpi in Karnataka for a short while. In this place there is Pampa Sarovar also (a lake). There King Krishnadevaraya made a temple called ‘Vijay Vitthal,’ victory of Vitthal which you can see here. And our deity of lord Vitthal, who belongs to everyone, he stayed here in this place for some time. This is a unique temple where the pillars make the sound of music when they are tapped. Sa re ga ma pa, this kind of music is sounded.

So lord Vitthal was bought back here from Karnataka by Bhanu Maharaja, who was from the same family as Ekanath Maharaja. At another time there was danger again, there was a great risk and so in Pandharpura, not far from where our Hare Krishna dham in Pandharpura which we are building called Bhu Vaikuntha, two or three hundred meters away, there is one Dev Gau, village.

There in the well the lord was hidden for a short while and the lord was being worshipped inside that well. He was decorated and worshipped in there. Due to
fear of Muslims, they were worshipping the lord in this way. Behind the lord Vitthal temple, there is another temple called Shree Takpithe Vitthoba. The children are making noise, I can hear. Is it Ramabai?

Yes, Ramabai used to come to Pandharpura and she used to mix buttermilk and flour and would make a special dish. This she would take to the Vitthal temple and she would offer this to the lord and the lord would really enjoy this. Who says that the lord does not eat? It is because we don’t feed him with the love which Shabari did. She only fed the lord ber fruit, she did not feed him the king of fruits, the Mango.

She just fed the lord the ber fruit, who gives importance to this kind of fruits like berries and bers, this is the fruit fit for the monkeys. But when Shabari fed lord Rama this ber fruit, the lord was very satisfied as if she had fed him a full meal. ‘I have never tasted anything like this before. What a fruit, wow!’ Ramabai has this same love and devotion and so her preparation of buttermilk and flour was very dear to
lord Vitthal and the lord ised to eat this with love.

But then she became ill and she was not able to go to the temple to see the lord and offer him this preparation. So she began to pray to the lord and he started coming to her home to eat the buttermilk and flour preparation. Haribol! Then slowed the lord started to stay there at her home and that is why there is a deity of lord Vitthal there even now. It is understood that this deity of lord Vitthal who eats this preparation and the lord in the temple of lord Vitthal are the same.

So when the Temple is closed, and people cannot take Darshan, many people then go to take Darshan of this deity who is taking this preparation of buttermilk and flour. The people become very happy by doing this as they are thinking ‘oh we have taken Darshan of Vitthal. Takpithe Vitthoba bhagavan ki Jai! The Acharya’s of the four Sampradaya’s have gone there, the Acharya of Brahma Sampradaya who is Madhavacharya, the Acharya of Sri Sampradaya, Ramanujacharya and then there is the Acharya of Rudra Sampradaya who is Visnuswami.

And from this Rudra Sampradaya came Vallabhachrya. He too came here and from the Kumara Sampradaya came Nimbarkacharya and all these Acharya’s have stayed in Pandharpura at some time or another. When we made Prabhupada Ghat we put four doors and on the four doors we have put the names of the four Acharya’s. So Vallabhachrya from Visnuswami Sampradaya, worshipped Bal Gopal in Vatsalya Rasa, as a parent or elder personality.

The lord is a small child and he is worshipped as Laddu Gopal and when Vallabhacharya was in Pandharpura, he gave Bhagavad Katha just as we are doing here right now in Hadapsar. Vallabhachrya was famous for his Katha on Srimad Bhagavatam and he has given Bhagavatam talks in sixty four different places. All these are known as the sitting places of Vallabhachrya, wherever he stayed and gave talk on Bhagavatam.

There is one such place in Pandharpura just close to our Iskcon Temple. When he was giving Bhagavatam talk, lord Vitthal used to give him Darshan and speak with him. They would have a conversation, Vallabacharya and lord Vitthal and as I was saying, when there is talk of the lord, who comes? The lord himself comes.

Mad bhakta yatra gayanti tatra tisthami narada, oh Narada, I am present wherever My devotees are chanting. The lord went there and Vallabhacharya took the lord’s Darshan and the lord also took Darshan of Vallabhacharya. By this we can learn about the character of Vallabhacharya ad understand that the lord Vitthal gave him an important instruction. And what was that?

The lord told him, ‘you must accept the Grihastha Ashram and get married.’ The lord must have had a plan in mind and his instruction must be followed. So Vallabhachrya had many children and one of them he named Vitthal. Then Adi Shankaracharya came and he said ‘Bhaje Pandurangam, worship lord Pandurangam.’ From his mouth he started glorifying the lord in this way which is natural for all of us.

These Mayavadis and Advaitavadis speak nonsense things to preach in the wrong way is possible but here what happened was natural. Shankaracharya said ‘Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam.
I Worship that Panduranga, Who is the veritable Image (Lingam) of Parabrahman. ‘He also said in Varanasi ‘bhaja govindam bhaja govindam govindam bhajamudhamate. Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, you fool!’

The scholars of Sankrit may have knowledge of the Sanskrit language but they are not devotees. That is why Shankara has said bhajamudhamate. ‘Oh you donkey! Worship Govinda. At the time of death this wont protect you.’ What wont protect him? ‘Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death. bhaja govindam govindam bhajamudhamate.’

This is Shankarachrya’s – well, at heart Shankaracharya is a Vaishnava.

nimna ganam yatha ganga
devanam acyuto yatha
vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh
purananam idam tatha
(Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.16)

Translation
Just as the Ganga is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Sambhu [Siva] the greatest of Vaishnavas, so Srimad Bhagavatam is the greatest of all Puranas.

It is said in the Bhagavatam, Vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh, lord Shiva is the best of Vaishnava’s. Nimna ganam yatha ganga, of all the rivers which flow to the sea, the river Ganges is the greatest, devanam acyuto yatha, lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and purananam idam tatha, Srimad Bhagavatam Purana is the greatest of all Puranas.

That is why the lord told lord Siva to play such a great part of becoming Shankaracharya and to preach Mayavadi philosophy. He has performed his duty very well, buy he is actually a Vaishnava and so lord Siva goes to take Darshan of of baby Krishna in Nanda Gram and he is also allowed entrance into the Rasa Lila of the lord’s lotus feet. He was in the Rasa Lila, can you imagine his devotion?

His feelings of devotion was like the Gopi’s and he had a form of a Gopi at that time. He had come there to the place called Maan Saorvar with his drum, dreadlocks, scorpions and a snake around his neck. He came and he was stopped at the entrance, ‘hey where are you going?’ He answered, ‘oh Im going to the Rasa dance arena.’ then they told him that only one who has the form of a Gopi and the feelings of a Gopi can go into the Rasa dance arena. He was told to take a bath in the Maan Sarovar.

Lord Siva then jumped into the lake and he came out after a short while, he became Gopeshwar, that was his name and he had become a Gopi, a very important Gopi. In Vrindavan there is a very important Temple of Gopeshwar and there is a deity there of Gopeshwar Siva. This is lord Siva and only a few people actually know lord Siva because they are sense enjoyers themselves.

kanksantah karmanam siddhim
yajanta iha devatah
ksipram hi manuse loke
siddhir bhavati karma ja
(Bhagavad gita 4.12)

Translation
Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore they worship the demigods. Quickly, of course, men get results from fruitive work in this world.

Those people who desire fruitive results go to the demigods with many wishes and desires and the demigods give them what they want. Lord Siva does the same, even though he does not want to do this. He asks, ‘what do you want?! Okay have it, now get out!’

Brahma says with his four mouths ‘Krishna Krishna Hare Hare’ and Lord Siva sings with his five mouths, ‘Rama Rama Hare Hare.’ Lord Brahma and lord Siva actually only want to chant the names of the lord and you say that even in the hands of lord Siva, there is chanting beads and he is constantly chanting in the beads. He does not chant his own names, he chants the supreme lords’ names on his beads.

When someone comes and asks, give me a long life and give me wealth. Give me, give me, give me. Because lord Siva is Asutosa, he is quickly satisfied so he says, ‘okay, here take it and go quickly, I have to chant.’ In this way Adi Shankaracharya came to Pandharpura and he has preached and distributed devotion and by singing the Panduranga Astaka, he has also requested us to do what? Worship Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam.
that Panduranga, Who is the veritable Image (Lingam) of Parabrahman.

I think we should go to the presentation, Vaikunatha presentation. You can see here, can you see here on that screen? Can you see the Dindi festival in this picture? Yes, no? Okay Hari Hari, sorry. The Dindi’s do not even take a step forward without chanting the lords names, Jai Jai Rama Krishna Hari. Tukaram also sings his devotional poems and by this he is singing the glories of the lord. By doing this, he is going further towards the lord’s lotus feet.

This sort of beautiful festival like Dindi, you will not find in the whole universe, not even in the heavenly planets. This is only in Maharashtra,in Pandharpura in Dehu. There are other small Dindi festivals in other towns and villages, but this is the biggest Dindi festival held here. For so many people to walk for eighteen days together, is a world record. They walk together and they stay together and all the while they are performing Kirtan of the holy names of the lord.

There is a Gazal, a song in poetry which has reached New York, London, Melbourne in Australia also, yes? It is in Durban, South Africa and Moscow, Russia. It has reached more than one hundred countries in the world, in thousands of cities and villages in which there is Kirtan happening! Shouts of Haribol! Srila Prabhupada knew that I would also have something to do with such a Dindi festival, and that I grew up knowing this culture.

My father was a Warkari, a preacher of devotion, and so Srila Prabhupada ordered me to organise these Dindi festivals. In Iskcon, Dindi entered when Prabhupada told me ‘ you were in Vrindavan, now you go to Mayapura with this Dindi, group of Padayatra devotees and bullock cart to preach in this way. Then Prabhupada told me, ‘go to Jagannatha Puri.’

So we went there also, and in one Padayatra, we went from Dwaraka, then once from Pandharpura, Kanniyakumari, Jagannatha Puri, Mayapura. There is a eight thousand kilometres Padayatra from eighteen months, and there are around one hundred and fifty devotees from twenty different countries who have done Padayatra Parikarama with us!

Me included, and the Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter in which he said, ‘we could have millions Padayatra’s and millions of carts all over the world. So
What happened is that the leaders were planning to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s hundred birthday in 1996 in a big way. So we took it photograph of Padayatra, Dindi festival and this and that. I was a Padayatri, part of Iskcon Padayatra so we decided to perform Padayatra in one hundred countries.

And the Padayatra which had started at the time of Srila Prabhupada, this is still going on today! Till now, we Iskcon devotees who are Padayatri’s and Warkari’s also, we have done three hundred thousand Padayatra’s. You didn’t seem to like this and you dont seem impressed, (shouts of Haribol). So it seems like you do not think this is a big deal, ‘oh is that it? Just three hundred thousand?’ So you need to clap.

So with with the Dindi, Padayatra and bullock cart Sankirtan, the prophecy that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told,

Prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 1.117)

In every town and village, the chanting of my name will be heard.

‘My chanting of my name should bot be preached only in Maharashtra or India, but ache yata nagaradi grama, it should be preached in every city and every village in the world. In all cities and all the villages my name will be preached.’ This Hare Krishna movement is making this prophecy come true and so is Iskcon’s Dindi or Padayatra. This Kirtan is going on all over the world just like Rathayatra which used to be celebrated only in Jagannath Puri, this same Jagannath Rathayatra is happening in more than seventy countries in the world!

We celebrated Janmasthami festival five, six months ago and devotees in over one hundred and fifty countries celebrated Janmasthami! All the cow killers in the world are now becoming protectors of the cows! Haribol! For your information this is being stated and so Tukaram Maharaja used to walk in the Dindi processions, but at one time it was not possible for him to go because he was not able to breathe properly.

Then Tukaram Maharaja wrote a letter addressed to lord Vitthal and he gave the letter to a neighbour who was going on the Dindi procession. He told him ‘when it is your turn to take Darshan, please read this letter to the lord on my behalf. The friend did just this and lord Vitthal found out that this year his Tukaram will not be able to come. In the letter Tukaram Maharaja had written, ‘oh Prabhu Panduranga, oh Vitthoba, I cannot come because my breathing is not proper.

Can you come to meet me and to give me Darshan? This was written by Tukaram Maharaja in the letter and when lord Vitthal heard this and read the letter, the lord started getting ready to leave. ‘Yes, yes, I want to go! When Rukmini found out the lord was leaving, it was also the day of Ashadi Ekadashi, she began to speaknto the lord. ‘Oh my lord, one to two million people have come to take your Darshan today and if you leave now, how will they be able to take your Darshan?’

The lord said ‘But i will have to leave because Tukaram cannot come, he is ill.’ This is the love of lord Vitthal, like a father he has this love for his devotee. So what would happen because all these people had come for Darshan and so Rukmini gave a suggestion and she said, ‘oh lord, why dont you send Garuda? He will go and he will put Tukaram Maharaja on top of him and bring him to you.’

The lord said, ‘good idea.’ So Garuda was sent, in Indonesia there is an airline which is called Garuda Airlines. India’s airline is called Air India, this is nonsense. There is American line, Australian Airways and Chinese Airways, and so seeing this, India also called it Air India, what is this nonsense? Or would be good if India Airline’s name was Garuda Airlines pr something like this.

So Garuda Ji reached Tukaram and he told Tukaram, ‘I have come to take you to the lord.’ Tukaram Maharaja said ‘no, no! Your vehicle is to be used for my lord. It is for the supreme lord so how can i use the same vehicle? No, no, no. You go and send the lord, send lord Vitthal. So poor Garuda goes back and by then most of the devotees on Dindi had taken Darshan of the lord’s lotus feet.

Rukmini then said we can go now because most of the devotees have taken Darshan. So Rukmini and lord Vitthal sit on Garuda and come to Dehu and although Tukaram Maharaja is not breathing well, he was coming out again and again and he was thinking, ‘when will the lord come? Why is he not coming and when will my lord come?’ Just like Rukmini was waiting for the Brahmana who was going to bring the lord to kidnap her during her marriage.

In the same way, Tukaram Maharaja was waiting and he was very anxious and so here in Dehu, the lord comes down and comes forward and hugs Tukaram Maharaja. Jai Panduranga Panduranga Panduranga. This sort of love and affection can be found only between the lord and his devotee. And so Tukaram Maharaja performed Kirtan of the lord you can say twenty four hours all day and all night.

This is called Bhakti, devotional service and the lord teaches us through his devotee how devotional service should be performed. Tukaram Maharaja was a householder, not a Sannyasi or Bhramachari. You may be a householder or a celibate devotee, but what should one do? One should perform Harinama, chanting of the lord’s holy names. i have to stop, it’s pretty late. So in happiness or distress one should chant the holy names of the lord.

This is the teachings of our Acharya’s, this is what they have taught us and so when the Dindi procession reached Pandharpura, all the pilgrims go to have a bath in the Chandrabhaga Maiya ki Jai. There is a great festival and especially in the month of Chaitra, March to April and Asada Ekadasi, there is a great festival. Hari Hari.

Ganga has manifested from the lotus feet of the lord and by seeing the condition of the fallen conditioned souls, the lord feels merciful towards them. The lord’s heart becomes soft and the lords heart begins to melt, then the Ganga which has come from his lotus feet, is bought here by the lord, so that we can bathe in her pure waters and become pure. The holy rivers are his mercy upon us. Ganga Maiya ki Jai.

River Chandrabhagha is the Ganga of Pandharpura and many ghats like Uddhava ghat which was made in 1784 and Mahadwara ghat was made ten years after this. Chandrabhaga ghat was made in 1820 which means in the past two hundred and fifty years, no ghat was made! After two hundred to three hundred years, Srila Prabhupada ghat ki Jai! Iskcon has made this ghat and there, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and Visvarupa’s slippers have been installed there.

And in that place, Radha Pandharinath ki Jai! Now Radha Pandharinath are also there giving Darshan for many years and their worship, Kirtan and so forth is going on there and Bhu Vainkuntha is also being established! This all I was speaking because it is all in the book which is why I am getting the opportunity to describe all this and after a lot of research this book being created and also into so many languages. In English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil and many other languages.

And fifty thousand books have been distributed already. So you are welcome to Bhu Vaikuntha, the project is called Bhu Vaikuntha and Pandharpura is also called Bhu Vaikuntha and this book is also called Bhi Vaikuntha. So you are most welcome and this book is here on the book stall. Bhu Vaikuntha ki kai! Pandharpura dham ki Jai! Vitthal Rukmini ki Jai! What happened? Jai! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai! Nitai Gaura Prem Anande Hari Haribol.

Bhagavat Katha Day 7
Hare Krishna Utsav
31-12-2023

A very warm welcome to you all. I want to welcome you today and so please accept my welcome! Shouts of Haribol! You’re most welcome. I am thinking that just as I am welcoming you all now, one day in the near future, may you have the same welcome in Vaikuntha Dham! Shouts of Haribol.

You have put this turban on me. so finally Tukaram Maharaja went back to his own village. And the village that he comes from is all of our’s village also. That is because Vaikuntha or Vrindavan and now they say Pandharpur also is our home. Also Bhu Vaikuntha in this Iskcon is eternal.

We have to become qualified to go to Bhu Vaikuntha that is here, in Iskcon, by performing our devotional service and taking darshan of Vitthal. We are all children lord Vitthal and he is waiting for us all to go to him as he stands with one hand on his waist. At least it looks like that, and this picture that you are seeing of the lord here, just like this, the Lord in Vaikuntha and in Gokula is we waiting for us.

So please come and let us go back to the lord. Political issues will only take us as far as Delhi or Mumbai, but the devotees and great saints like Tukaram Maharaj and Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Like Srila Prabhupada and many other Acharya’s, what is their campaign? ‘Come with us back to godhead, to Vaikunatha.’ Are you welcoming this idea?

Are you ready? Enough is enough now, this is too much and Vaikunatha is our actual village and Vaikunatha is our motherland, our fatherland. Because our real father and mother are Vitthoba, lord Vitthal.

He is the mother and he is the father and he is the lord. He is everything. He is the all in all, Srila Prabhupada says. Panduranga is all in all. He is our everything and so wherever he is staying in his abode, that abode, that village is also ours. When Gokarana was speaking Katha for Dhundhukari, at the end of the Katha many planes came from Vaikunatha.

In those planes there were air hosts -there is no mention of air hostesses, but air hosts were there. Whoever in the audience had listened to the narrations of Krishna with faith and attention like in Samadhi, and with their mind, those who had taken the narrations in their minds, they were all invited to board the planes.

The lord himself had also come and he invited Gokarana personally and the other hosts told all of them to board the plane which they did. They fastened their belts, engines started and they took off. Vaikuntha dham ki jai! That is the same thing which happened three hundred and seventy four years ago in Dehu. A plane came and Tukaram maharaja left on that plane.

Also, as he left, he demonstrated how to leave this world. This demonstration has also been given by the lord next door. Because Dehu village is in the city of Pune, and no Air India or China Airways or this one or that one like British Airways could do this. So when the planes were taking off, Tukaram Maharaja sat down and reached Vaikunatha.

And as he left, he was telling everybody who was there, ‘you come there soon,’ and ‘you come there also. That’s why what do you have to do now? You have to chant with your mouth, Rama Krishna Hari. Or

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Is it ready now? Yes or no, where is the PPT? Where is the team? Okay so go ahead. First light, could you display? This presentation is called Vasudeava kutumbakam, this is the name I have given it. Our culture or you can say Bhagavad dharma, the principles of devotional service, this teaches us simple living and what is it? High thinking. This is what we want to do, simple living and high thinking.

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Niraamayaah
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid Duhkha Bhaag Bhavet
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

Translation
May All be Happy,
May All be Free from Illness.
May All See what is Auspicious,
May no one Suffer.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace

This is also high thinking, that all be happy and free from illness and so on, everything in relation to these things. Hari Hari.

ekam sastram devaki putra gitam
eko devo devaki putra eva
eko mantras tasya namani yani
karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva
(gita-mahatmya 7)

In this present day, people are very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. Therefore, ekam sastram devaki putra gitam: let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world, Bhagavad-gita. eko devo devaki putra eva: let there be one God for the whole world, Sri Krishna. eko mantras tasya namani: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer — the chanting of His Name: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva: and let there be one work only — the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The messages of the Bhagavad Gita the also are written in such a way that all these thoughts are that we want to persue and presented here with the title vasudhaivam kutumbakam. So lets start as we dont have much time. In Maharashtra we say vasudhaivam Kutumbakam as it is said that the whole world is my home. It is one world, one family.

From the Sastric view of the Vedas, this theme or way of thinking is also correct. Srila Prabhupada was asked once, Srila Prabhupada ki jai! The Iskcon founder Acharya, he was asked, ‘why have you come to foreign countries?’ Prabhupada answered, ‘I want to change the way the world thinks.’ And what is that change? For people to have a Vedic view.

‘I have come so people can have this change of thought.’ vasudhaivam Kutumbakam is the same saying of the Vedas.

Ayam nijah paro veti gananaa laghucetasaam . udaaracaritaanaam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam.
(Hitopanisad)

This whole world is a creation of Krishna and every living entity is His family member. In other words, this whole world is just one family and all the living entities are brothers, sisters, fathers or mothers of each other.

Not that ‘these persons are mine but these people are outsiders.’ Those people who thinking is like this, their thinking and their feelings are laghu chetana is low thinking. They think, ‘these people are mine and others are outsiders.’ This is of dual thinking, but those who are great persons have high thinking. They are merciful and therefore their thoughts are always ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.’

Vasudha is this Earth and so as many people there are on this Earth, they are my family. We are all children of the one God. The head of the family is God and we are all part of his family. This means that as many people there are on this planet, they are all part of this one family. There are all brothers and sisters and so whoever thinks in such a way has high thinking. And the supreme Lord is also thinking in this way, the common brotherhood.

So when one that’s not have this thinking, there is fighting, quarrels and wars. This is the symptom of Kaliyuga. There was one war in 1914 which was the world war and anyway there are many other wars. These things have now become daily affairs by enviousness and thinking of ‘me you, me you. You get out of here!’

The second world war lasted from 1939 till 1945 and this is one thing. In Kaliyuga there is the prominence of low thinking which comes from the modes of ignorance and passion which makes one think and act in a certain way and there are fights over differences. Mahabharata.

dhrtarastra uvaca
dharma ksetre kuru ksetre
samaveta yuyutsavah
mamakah pandavas caiva
kim akurvata sanjaya
(Bhagavad Gita 1.1)

Translation
Dhrtarastra said: O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?

Was Mahabharata not a world war? In Mahabharata there were eighteen Akshauhini divisions of armies involved and all the countries in the world were there. Some were on the Kaurava’s side and some on the Pandavas side, but they were all involved. So there was no doubt that it was a world war which happened before three thousand and sixty seven years BC Christ.

That means that the world wars that occurred are quite recent in comparison, and the world wars one and two are there but what about the Mahabharata war? That means the first world war is actually the second world war and the second world war is the third world war. So this is a big problem and what to speak of Mahabharata? That is history and in this world there are two prominent historical events.

One is Ramayana and the other is Mahabharata whose author is Srila Vyasadeva and the author of Ramayana is Valmiki. So the historical events are called ‘Itihasa.’ Iti means it and Hasa means it happened. So Itihasa means ‘so It happened.’ What was the possibility that the British would come, the Christians would come? And in the past, the British have said that whatever has been described, this is all Hindu mythology.

This means they are saying it is all imaginary, and gradually we Indians also got brainwashed and we also started to say ‘it’s mythology.’ We all started repeating what they had said and so this has to be stopped. Hare Krishna. What else can be said? So the western people are saying this but the Indians are no better in saying this is mythology.

Srila Prabhupada used to call them frogs, frogs in the well. One frog came near the Pacific Ocean and so another frog asked him, how big is that well that you visited? So the frog who asked the question took his tummy out and asked ‘ is it this big?’ The frog answered ‘no no, it’s bigger.’ so then the frog asked is it this big, how about this big?’

‘no, no bigger, bigger,’ came the reply. As he continue to bring his stomach out, his stomach ripped into two pieces. How would a frog who lived in the well, understand the depth and width of the Pacific Ocean? In Kaliyuga, there are many people like this, especially in the western countries. And here in India there are also people who are trying to imitate them.

These people are like that that Dr frog in the well. I was in Los Angeles California and the people there were having a celebration. So I asked one of the people there, ‘how old is your Los Angeles?’ He answered ‘our Los Angeles is a very OLD city.’ By longing out the word old, he wanted to make me understand just how old the city Los Angeles was.

He said ‘it is very old.’ So I asked him, ‘how OLD is Los Angeles?’ He replied ‘two hundred years old.’ How old? So to his understanding, two hundred years was very old. Jai Sri Rama! So the Rams has just come back to Ayodhya, we understand that he was here for one million years.

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
Bhagavad gita 4.8)

Translation
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

How old is Ayodhya? It is at least 10 million years old. Ayodhya dham ki jai! This history must be fixed and so in terms of history, they have got it wrong. In Christian theology they are saying that the works world was only in existence for around four thousand years before Christ. God created this world in seven days and after the world was made in seven days, the Supreme Lord took rest.

This is why the whole world takes rest on Sunday, and the reasoning is it is because God also took rest on that day. ‘ because, to rest ,let us also do the same.’ This was a perfect excuse to have a holiday. So actually they have no clue as to how old this world is, and who is its creator. Who is the operator who is the destroyer?
They say there was a big bang and the world was created.

There are so many talks like this. Previously a living g entity in the form of a cell was called amiba. So they have no clue that first it was Vitthoba, not amiba who created this world. Then from the Lord Brahma was born and he is the one who creates the whole world, and his life is of one hundred years. I cannot get into all this, but Brahma’s one day is, well one thousand Mahayugas are twelve hours of Brahma. Then another one thousandis his day and night.

Kaliyuga is four hundred and thirty two thousand years and double that it Dwaparyuga, three times more is Tretayuga and four times more is Satyayuga. When you put these four cycles of Yuga’s together there is one Mahayuga. After one thousand Yuga cycles like this, it will be the end of Brahma’s one day and night. What’s more, 360 of these days and nights make 1 of Brahma’s years, and he lives for a full 100 of these years. So Brahmas’s one lifetime is the same as one breath of Maha Vishnu.

And you can see here right? With the out coming breath of Maha Vishnu, so many universes are coming out of his body. Anandakoti Brahma Nayak Krishna Kahnaiya Lal ki Jai! When the lord inhales, those universes again, go back in to him. And how many times this the Lord breathe in and out? He’s constantly breathing in and exhaling out. Therefore, the universes are coming in and out many, many times.
Therefore, the lord says that he is this span of time, kalo ’smi.

Sri bhagavan uvaca
kalo ’smi loka ksaya krt pravrddho
lokan samahartum iha pravrttah
rte ’pi tvam na bhavisyanti sarve
ye ’vasthitah praty anikesu yodhah
(Bhagavad gita 11.32)

Translation
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the P???avas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain

Krishna has given us instruction which is in the sastras, vedas, puranas and Bhagavad gita. And of course Bhagavad gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and the Puranas are non different from the Vedas. The lord has called them the king of all knowledge.

raja vidya raja guhyam
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyaksavagamam dharmyam
su sukham kartum avyayam
(Bhagavad gita 9.2)

Translation
This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed

This is transcendental knowledge, although the world is running after material knowledge. It is expert knowledge for those who are foolish and it is also study of the consciousness. We can only learn these things from the Bhagavad gita.

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta krd veda vid eva caham
(Bhagavad gita 15.15)

Translation
I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

So other religions which have come gradually, they have been made and they all have their own religious books. Those religions have one or maybe two books like the Bible or the Quran and in western countries they say that theirs is the book of religion. Their one book is there but what do we have? We have a library of religion. We have many books, a whole storehouse of books.

In 1202 AD there were these people who we are showing you now, but actually we should not even be looking upon their face. The middle east Muslims have come and they have caused a fire on actual religion, and there thinking is that ‘when our Quran is there, what need is there for any other religion? These Hindu’s are outsiders, so let us kill them.’ This is their low thinking.

They came and they put fire in Nalanda Viswavidyalaya amd for four months the whole place was burning. Many branches of the Vedas have no end, there is Srutis, Smritis, Puranas and much more. They tries to burn all these books. These books are the greatest in mankind and they were established seven hundred years before Christ where eleven hundred scholars from all over the world came to study all different subjects of the Vedas.

At one point, everybody understood that Bharat, India is the spiritual master of all the other countries. Bharat Mata ki Jai! All the intellectuals from all over the world, we gather in India for their higher studies. They used to read Vedas there, just like now there is higher education overseas, and it is possible that you have also sent your son or daughter to another country. But that is not higher but lower education because higher educated means to study Bhagavad gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and the Vedas and Puranas. This is transcendental knowledge but in Kaliyuga everything turns upside down and this is also a symptom of Kali.

We are in darkness because Kali means darkness and what sort of darkness? The darkness of ignorance.

Krsna surya sama; maya haya andhakara
yahan Krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 22.31)

Translation
Krsna is compared to sunshine, and maya is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Krsna consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish

At one time this Bharat, spiritual master of all other countries, bha means light and rata means to advise, and this is how we should understand the name of the country. Bhaskar is another name of the sun as he gives light to the eyes and so in this way we understand that Krishna is the original Bhaskar, the original light.

Bahu koti candra jini vafana ujjvala.

bahu koti candra jini’ vadana ujjvala
gala dese bana mala kore jhalamala

Translation
The brilliance of Lord Caitanya’s face conquers millions upon millions of moons, and the garland of forest flowers around His neck shines

The resplendent face of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, shines with light and this light is also the light of knowledge. India our sastras and there is no question if you and us and we think ‘oh we are Indians and you are westerners, you are foreigners and we are the nationals.’ No, this thinking is not good but it is going on in Kaliyuga and then we start to speak like this also.

So here, the knowledge that the supreme lord has given.. well, Bharat is not the India that we call now. No that is not Bharat because Bharat means the whole of Earth. King Parikshit and King Yuddhishtir have been called the Kings of Earth in the Vedic literatures. Krishna also calls Arjuna ‘He Bharata’ in the Bhagavad gita.

So every single person used to be called a Bharatian in those day, a citizen of Bharat. This is the problem in Kaliyuga because Kaliyuga breaks everything apart and makes divisions in the world. So Bhagavad gita and Srimad Bhagavatam is not only for Hindu’s. Krishna does not give his instructions in the Bhagavad gita and say ‘for Hindus only.’ Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto, the lord is saying that he is seated in everyone’s heart.

He did not then say ‘oh no, no, this only a place for the Indians and the Hindus.’ This includes all living entities and the lord is saying this. It isnt for just Hindu, Muslim, Christian and this or that one. This sort of talk has only started about one and a half thousand years ago. Before then, the whole world was one and these Vedas, Sastras, Puranas and Vedas were for every human being.

And of course books of religion are
for everybody just like in chemistry. We know that H2O is one part hydrogen and one part oxygen, and that is always the truth. Then there is Catalysis and what will happen with this? There will be water production. So this formula is the same, the one written in the Sastra. Just like science cannot be American science, English Science or European science.

Science is Science. So the problem is just this, idam sastram pramanam te. Krishna says Bhagavad gita is the original science, along with Srimad bhagavatam, Vedas and Puranas. Sastra means Science and Science is for everybody, not that only Hindu’s or Muslims. If they have science in their religious books like the Quran then that scripture is also for the whole world this means that that book is for all of the living entities in the world.

And throughout the whole world only Bhagavad gita and Srimad bhagavatam.. anyway what can we say? Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada is the founder acharya and he has translated Bhagavad gita and Srimad bhagavatam in around one hundred languages and the people of those countries are reading the books and also distributing them. Millions of books of Bhagavad gita and Srimad bhagavatam are being distributed all over the world right now!

We just had Gita jayanti on Moksada Ekadasi recently and the followers of Iskcon, who are around one million all over the world, all of them, just like Tukaram Maharaja has said,

gita bhagwat kariti shravan, akhand chintan vithobache.

Translation
Where there is unceasing reading of Bhagavat Geeta, Srimad bhagavatam and contemplation of Lord Vitthal

This is what the International society of Krishna consciousness is doing and this is just the beginning. So much more os going to happen. And in regards to Iskcon India, in this month, we are going to distribute seven million books. This is just in India so if you consider in Europe, inAmerica, in Australia, in Russia because this is an international society so our followers are all Vaishnava’s or Gaudiya Vaishnava’s. They are all preachers of this dharma and they are all preaching the holy name.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

We are constantly chanting in Kirtan, along with Mrdanga and kartals and that is why people call us all over the world, ‘oh these are Hare Krishna people, they are Hare Krishna people.’ This Hare Kirtan has become so famous all over the world and we have dhoti and kurta (bottom and top) for gentlemen and Saris for ladies. Then of course their is Tilak, Tulasi neck beads and Sikha (tail on head for men).

We are embarrassed to put on Tilak and when is our turn to bow to the Lord and pay obeisances, we look around to see if somebody is looking at us or not. That is why we quickly hit the floor with our head and then get back up again very quickly. ‘ I look at him he’s not scientific minded, he is old-fashioned. In our Vedas they do not know what is there. They are not only a few mantras for Arati and a few Slokas but they also include space science, astronomy, agriculture, mechanics, textiles and architecture, practice with weapons, Ayurveda, geography, you name it.

There is also solar energy, communications and knowledge of flying a plane. Logistics is also there and I’m just reading a small list here. All these subject matters are in the Vedas snd Puranas. The scientists have only come about some five hundred years ago but before this, all science was in Sanskrit and the lord was the creator of all the sciences. All this knowledge has always been around and therefore it is called Apaurusheya, not made or written by man.

What is the time? Okay. Lets go forward faster. Hindi Chini bhai bhai. In 1962, were you there then? Who was around in 1962? Do you not have hands, nobody is not putting their hand up. Okay, so some of you were there, and at that time there was a war between India and Pakistan, no not Pakistan, it was China. We were small school children then and we were being taught to chant, ‘Hindi Chini bhai bhai.’

Because India and China, both friendly countries, and so we wanted that we stop fighting and so should they. Vasudeva Kutumbakam is the high thinking and we are all bhai bhai, brothers. So I would also chant these slogans. But I was young and I was a villager, and so I did not understand what this meant, Hindu Chini bhai bhai.

I would chant this slogan, but I was thinking that Hindi was the language and Chini means sugar in Hindi. Then there was bhai bhai. So I was thinking how can this be possible? The language is Hindi and the sugar, Chini. How can these be brothers? So I was thinking, what are they actually meaning by this and what are they saying? Then I grew older and understood that Hindi means the people of Hindustan, and Chini means the people of China.

I still could not understand what it meant by these being brothers. Two people can be brothers, but how can all the people of two countries be brothers? If two people have a common father, then they can be brothers, but here i was thinking who is the common father of so many people of two different countries? Is it Modi or someone? Is it the president, is he the common father of China and Hindustan?

It still was not making any sense, but when I became older and when I met his divine grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki Jai! When I reached the shelter of his lotus feet and when I heard from him, the Bhagavad gita, I began to understand. Krishna says ‘I am the seed giving father of all living entities, I am the common father.’

So that made sense, so not only a Hindi and Chini brothers, but all others like the Russians and the Ukrainians, they are what? They are brothers as are the Russians and Americans. This is a fact and this on the strength of this fact we can establish brotherhood of mankind. Then it will be awareness Vasudeva Kutumbakam which is a fact anyway and then we can expect peace.

Okay so it’s that ready now? You were making a copy? In New York, there is the headquarters of the United Nations. When Srila Prabhupada used to go through New York, in 1955 or 1966, he used to see that the flags of all the nations were increasing. Another flag and yet another flag. What kind of United Nations is this? This is disunited Nations not United Nations. United Nations means just one flag.’

They say God made the country and man made the town. Made made the concrete jungle. We can see how beautiful God’s world is, fresh air and clean water, it is pure. So then a question has been asked what did Man do? So God has made this most beautiful world, and what has man done? Man has made a mess. The mess that we see in this world.

Man has polluted the air and the water, this pollution, and that pollution. Food pollution and the most dangerous pollution is that of the mind and thoughts. That is why Srila Prabhupada Prabhupada held his last public lecture in Mumbai 1977. After this Prabhupada went back to godhead in the same year. In that last lecture he gave, there was a great big tent built and many people gathered to hear him and I was also there.

Srila Prabhupada started by saying ‘the modern civilisation is a total failure.’ That was the topic of the lecture. And actually it cannot be called civilisation because we are uncivilised. The people of Kaliyuga are asabhya, uncivilised. Civilised means sabhya but we are uncivilised asabhya. We are gentleman in name only but actually we are very rough, we are rough-ians.

The modern civilisation is a total failure, and so Srila Prabhupada gave the talk a sub title, Krishna consciousness is the only solution. Otherwise, everything else is a failure, and so Krishna consciousness is the only solution. The chief minister of that time, SB Chavan, was there to inaugurate that session near cross maidan. This was the place where Srila Prabhupada gave the lecture and in this world there are two types of economics.

You’re all thinking ‘what how can there be two types of economics?’ One type is an agrarian economy, as they call it in English and the other one is industrial economy. Economy based upon Farming, Agriculture, dairy farming and it is said in the gita that agriculture, dairy farming, and commerce are the natural works for those with the qualities of Vaishyas.

This includes the land and the cow and the ball, these entail industrial economy in according to the Vedas, this agrarian economy is the right economy. But the western world has introduced industrial economy and the world is seeing the consequences of this and actually the world is suffering because of this. Now it time to awake and so we will show you some samples. Yes could you Haribol?

It is finished? Where have the bulls gone? When i go back to my village in Aravade, I used to see in the years gone by that all the farmers would decorate their cows and bulls along with the carts and there would be such nice competition with so much enthusiasm, ‘ I will decorate the best carts and bull.’ In each house. We would see bulls cows and milk, but now we have the bulls gone? All we see are tractors and we do not know what has happened to the bulls. Maybe they are.. What can be said?

They are sending them to the slaughter houses. Go mata ki Jai! Agrarian economy used to mean milk, earth, crops, cows and bulls. People want everything fresh. Fresh air, fresh water, fresh vegetables but what is going on now? Chemical fertilisers and this and that. Back in my village, they used to be around seven cows and bulls and in the villages everybody used to stay healthy at all times.

In my village and maybe yours as well. Are any of you from the village? Did anyone take birth in a village? Oh okay more than half, in fact about seventy percent of you. In the village there is a population of three to four thousand people and a doctor would cycle to the village every Wednesday just to see if there were any sick people that needed medical treatment.

And they were many times when the poor doctor could not find any sick people to treat, they were all healthy by being active and they were so hard-working, they would sweat naturally. And everything was fresh, including their thoughts, which would be positive. Good thoughts. The slowly the time came where everything was spoiled and the industrial civilisation came to ruin everything. Tractors and factories and chemical fertilisation, and this and that. There was the radio and cinema and then finally the internet.

So then they created the dispensary. The doctor would come, and they opened a small hospital, people came to the opening and there was a medical officer who cut the ribbon to open the hospital. Then people clapped in celebration, ‘we also have a hospital in our village! So people must think before they move forward, as they say. They must think twice.

So can you see here, the boomerang effect, that how this industrial economy is breaking everything down? The modern man is falling, this is what is going on day and night. We are being defeated and we want to fight back with our defence mechanisms. So many pollutions came, water pollution, noise pollution, soil pollution and noise pollution. There is radioactive pollution and then there is mind pollution of course.

It is said clearly in the chapter of the gita that if you get attached to your senses by exploiting its objects, one will become lusty. Lust lust lust, or sin sin sin. One becomes helpless to perform these things. Tukaram Maharaja has said, we are awaking the sin and lust through our attachment and association with the senses and their objects.

And when lust is not satisfied, and indeed, it is never satisfied, then what happens? Anger arises. And we have seen the effects of anger in our own homes, or in the villages. One state is fighting with another state, one country is fighting with another country, one religion is fighting another. We are always becoming angry and we are always allured to becoming angry and when we do so, intelligence has lost.

We are then destroyed, we do not become enlightened but rather we are destroyed. This technology in this modern civilisation and this and that, industry, we’re going to the moon, by all these things, we are becoming characterless. But if we meditate upon the lord rather than on our own senses, then what will happen? Our would love will awaken and then when we serve the lord in love, the lord has promised in the gita that he will give us the intelligence to attain him.

But for one who wants to enjoy the senses, lord gives the wrong type of intelligence. For one who meditates upon the lord, and who has engaged in his service, the lord gives the right type of intelligence, ‘so he can come to me, he can come to Vaikuntha.’ This type of intelligence is used here so that one can use it in. Vaikuntha also. But the wrong intelligence leads one to hell. The lord has told us that lust, greed and anger are like three gates.

We want to go to Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha dham ki Jai. Bhu Vaikuntha ki Jai. Pandharpura dham ki Jai. Sri Sri Vitthal Rukmini ki Jai! The are so many problems like global warming, which we have caused. We have caused harm to the land on which we walk, the land on which we were born, mother Earth. We have made her temperature high, and we continue to do so.

When the mother is not healthy, how can we as the children that she maintains remain healthy? We are cutting the forests, deforestation. This is happening everywhere and then they set up the factories and they said industries. We have the Amazon in South America upon this earth, this is the forest . There is an Amazon river also, and then there is this Amazon forest.

There is the understanding that the air we breathe upon this Earth, the oxygen that we are breathing, twenty percent of this oxygen that the people breathe comes from the forest. and we are cutting down this very forest. What will happen? Our throats are going to suffocate without oxygen because we are destroying the source of our life air. What to speak of the killing of animals and this meat eating is causing a big problem.

This includes India, you may not know but we are filling big boats and sending meat to the Middle East and in exchange they are giving us Patrol. ‘can you take this meat and an exchange you give us Petrol.’ Bharat is exporting meat including, what can we say? We should not even speak it but they are exporting beef also and as we are talking now, thousands if not millions of cows are being slaughtered in our country and then we expect peace.

Twenty or twenty five years ago, there was a discussion in Parliament in regard to the slaughter houses in India. They were saying that the blades used to kill the animals were not sharp enough. This means that to cut the animal was taking longer and so the animal was feeling much pain for a long time. ‘The animals are feeling a lot of pain so what to do?’

This discussion was going on and so you will be surprised, but do you know what decision the parliament took? ‘We have to modernise our slaughter houses and we should get blades from Ireland so that we can quickly cut the animals and they will not feel pain.’ This is the mercy which was shown by the members of Parliament. They had mercy, but actually is this mercy? No, this is cruelness.

India’s parliament were thinking ‘we have to be modern, so slaughterhouses.. The animals are saying ‘we are living entities, I am mot meat. I am also a soul, i am not a piece of meat. Exploitation of material resources is going on and the consequences to these actions by the means of coronavirus and there are many other ways.

Disease’s are increasing and I’m sure you remember when the coronavirus was strong, there was lockdown, remember lockdown? We were are all locked down and before coronavirus, hear this illustration because it is very funny. Before coronavirus the animals were locked up in cages or in the zoo and we would go to see them.

And the animals were locked behind the bars but when coronavirus came our roles changed. We were locked down behind the bars and the animals were enjoying this sight, they were laughing and heading a good time. That’s why they say that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We are also becoming enjoyers to a greater extent throughout the world, but we are not taking into consideration that this sort of enjoyment brings about disease.

You enjoy, enjoy and then suffer, this is called the law of Karma. All the commercials are made to tempt us into shopping and so much more, what can be said? There used to be small shops in the past, but now everything has become big, big stores and huge shopping centres. Slowly super bazaars and hyper bazaars are opening. From this enjoyment, there comes about disease and America has become the most sick nation in the world.

America is the land of opportunity, and it is the greatest country of enjoyment, therefore, the number one sick country must be America. They always want to become number one in everything, so therefore they have also become number one in being the most sick nation in the world. We have become greedy beyond our need. Mahatma Gandhi also said, ‘need is fine but not greed, that isn’t needed.’

It’s fine to use what you need as necessity, but when you become greedy to stock more and more and get more and more, this is not good. There is some stock, this one that one, and we want to keep getting more and more keeping it all together. This is not necessary, this is greed and there are consequences to this greediness. They did a survey about high living low thinking, this is happening now.

Not simple living, high thinking, the opposite of that is happening now. There’s low thinking or no thinking. People walk around with a T-shirt on which has a thumbs up, and it means just do it. You don’t have to think, just do it. Think of what you have done afterwards but just do it. This is low thinking, so if all of ours and everybody else’s living standard becomes like America’s thinking, if all the people of the world and all the countries start thinking like America, the resources of the whole Earth will not be enough for us.

How many Earths will we then be needing? Five Earths, which is never going to happen so in the meantime we will all keep fighting between ourselves. Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, so Mayapur dham is Iskcons headquarters just like New York is the headquarters of America. Mayapur is the birth place of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and it is just like Vrindanvan and we are making Mayapur our headquarters.

The war between Ukraine and Russia but they were Hare Krishna devotees in Ukraine and there are Hare devotees in Russia, but they do not fight between themselves. Everyone else is fighting but when we become devotees of Krishna and devotees of Rama, when we become devotees, we do not fight because we have the feeling Vasudeva Kutumbakam. So the Russians and Ukrainians are also brothers and this brotherhood between all nations is possible if we come to take shelter of the supreme lord and if we accept the lord as our father.

Vasudeva Kutumbakam is certainly possible. So Hari Hari, I will stop now. Thank you to all of you that you came, and you sat patiently listening to the talk. You weren’t sleeping were you? Thank you.

Srimad Bhagavatam katha day 3
Pune Hadapsar
27th December 2022

Can you all hear at the back? I know you can all hear on the monitor. Okay, apart from welcoming you all it is also important that I thank you for your coming here today. I can see that you are not getting tired although you have been coming for two days (shouts of Haribol).

vayam tu na vitrpyamau
uttama sloka vikrame
yac chrnvatam rasa jnanan
svadu svadu pade pade
(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.19)

Translation
We never tire of hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by hymns and prayers. Those who have developed a taste for transcendental relationships with Him relish hearing of His pastimes at every moment.

There were many sages who had gathered at Naimisaranya, there was a big gathering of eight eight thousand and they all said ‘vayam tu na vitrpyamau. We are not becoming tired of listening about the transcendental pastimes of the lord. Svadu svadu pade pade, we want to hear these at every moment. So these feelings are also coming to all of you and what can be said about your enthusiasm?

Today you have made a great achievement and you have made a great uproar. How many days he had been sitting down, but today you have all stood up, and not only did you stand up but you were all dancing! Haribol! By listening to the pastimes of the lord, there is perfection and satisfaction and this was what was discussed at the end of the Bhagavad Mahatmya.

The four Kumaras were speaking on the pastimes of the lord continuously and the lord suddenly appeared there with so many of his associates. Then there was a Maha Sankirtan, a great Sankirtan and everyone including Jnana and Vairagya started dancing. In the same way when we first enter and start listening to the pastimes of the lord initially, we are in the same situation which Jnana and Vairagya were in, but they also started dancing.

I am sure the lord who is here present before us in his deity form and he is here is his form of the holy name

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is also a form of the lord.

kali kale nama rupe krsna avatara
nama haite haya sarva jagat nistara
(Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 17.22)

Translation
In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krsna maha mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krsna. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered

Once there was a discussion about the different forms of the lord and it was discussed that one form of the lord is which one? Kali kale nama rupe krsna avatara, the lord appears in the form of his holy name.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

when we chant, the lord appears.

nama nache jiva nache nache prema dhana jagat nachaya maya kare palayana
(Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur)

The Name dances, the soul dances, and divine love dances. The whole world then begins to dance and Maya flees.

The name starts to dance also which means that the lord is dancing and the jiva is dancing also. Then by doing this, everyone attains prema dhana, prema dhana. Krishna prema pradaya te.

Namo maha vadanyaya
Krishna prema pradaya te Krishnaya Krishna Chaitanya
namine gaura tvishe namah
(Rupa Goswami)

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna Chaitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatara (incarnation of the Supreme Lord), even Krishna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given – pure love of Krishna.

Krishna kahnaiya lal ki jai! Dwarakadhish ki jai! Kahnaiya lal is in Vrindavan and Dwarakadhish is in Dwaraka. We are speaking a little about the pastimes of Dwarakadhish, I think I have not spoken of everything in full so you will only understand in accordance to what has been spoken. It is true that we can never speak fully on the glories of pastimes of Srimad Bhagavatam, we can only speak in a limited manner.

This is because the pastimes of the lord are a sea, a whole ocean is there, it is unlimited. Krishna Katha is an ocean out of which we can only spray or throw a few drops from that ocean upon you all by speaking something. A few drops from the ocean we can take and even these few drops of the nectar of the pastimes of the lord is enough for us. These few drops then become an ocean for us.

om purnam adah purnam idam purnat purnam udacyate purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate
(Sri Isopanisad invocation)

Translation
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete. And because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as a complete whole. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete by itself. And because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.

Whatever comes out of this ocean of transcendental pastimes becomes complete also. Sarvatma snapanam param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam

ceto darpana marjanam bhava maha davagni nirvapanam sreyah kairava candrika vitaranam vidya vadhu jivanam anandambudhi vardhanam prati padam purnamrtasvadanam sarvatma snapanam param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam
(Siksastakam 1)

Translation
Glory to the sri-krsna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

Once we become part of this Sankirtan movement, which for us is just a drop in the ocean of transcendental pastimes of the lord, then what do we do? We take bath in that ocean or there is a bathing of our soul and along with this, yayatma suprasidati.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.6)

Translation
The supreme occupation, or dharma, for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self

The soul will be happy, and that soul is us ourselves because we are not this body but we are the spirit soul. When you were all dancing I was thinking that now you are all relaxed, right? ‘Relax, take it easy- relax!’ There is so much tension and pressure in the whole world and there is operation in separation and depression by which the whole world is troubled. That’s why I was thinking when I saw you dancing that ‘now you’re relaxed. You are now at home.’

You’re soul is now taking that joy, stealing joy just like when a person dances, what should we take from that? We should understand that the person must be very happy and that’s why he is dancing. It is also true that crazy people dance as well, Hari Hari. Well, we can also dance because we are crazy for Krishna and we can be called crazy as well.

kiba mantra dila, gosani, kiba tara bala
japite japite mantra karila pagala
(Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.81)

Translation
My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this maha mantra

Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘what kind of mantra have you given Me? Since you have given me this mantra what has happened? I have become mad simply by chanting this maha mantra. Japite japite mantra karila pagala. The people of Mayapura, Navadwipa are calling me mad, a crazy man.’ Actually every person is mad, some are mad after Maya and some are mad after Hari Katha, crazy to hear Krishna’s pastimes.

As I was coming here, on the way as I went to sit in the car, I met a Mataji who was here yesterday in the katha and she was saying also that ‘Maharaja, yesterday’s talk which you gave, this katha has made me mad. This is because on the way home and upon reaching home I kept thinking of all the things which you had spoken in the katha.I was listening to your katha and so I was not even able to sleep at night also.’

If I have pleased at least one person and that’s job satisfaction. I am doing a job here by speaking in the pastimes of Krishna and I am satisfied that by my doing so, at least one person has become happy. I dont know if any of you ate happy or not but at least one person was, (shouts of Haribol). Thank you. So Dwarakadhish ki jai. Dwarakadhish went to Kuruksetra three times and once her went during the time of a solar eclipse and this is going back five thousand years ago.

When there is an eclipse of the sun or it can be an eclipse of the moon which also takes place, the saintly persons go to a scared river or lake to take bath. So the supreme lord himself, Dwarakadhish went along with his queens, and there were how many in number? Sixteen thousand one hundred and eight and of course his parents were there too, Vasudeva and Devaki. And also there were many ministers there along with the lord, and they were just about to leave.

If I tell speak like this then the story will start but actually all of this is part of the story, the katha but I was not supposed to speak in this way and so I wont do so. Anyway so, I’m talking to myself, so almost a hundred years ago or itself possible that it’s a little less than that, the Brajavasi’s were feeling sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me

yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me
(Siksastakam 7)

Translation
O Govinda! Feeling Your separations I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.

For the Brajavasi’s in Vrindavan it was sunyayitam jagat sarvam. They were feeling the while world to be vacant without Govinda and you can take it that they were dying due to feelings of the intense separation from the lord. They were so anxious to meet the lord, you can’t even imagine how much. Krishna knew of this and he was also missing them of course. ‘Odho mohi Braj visrat nahi. Oh Uddhava I cannot forget Braja, Vrindavan. Yeh mathura kanchan ki nagari.’

At that time Krishna was in Mathura so he was telling Uddava ‘this Mathura is a city made of gold. There is always business dealings going on here of gold and silver and so many other things. But in Vrindavan the dealings are the dealings of love and so I not happy with all these other business dealings here in Mathura. Oh Uddhava, mohi Braj visrat nahi. Oh Uddhava I cannot forget Braja.’ So both parties were missing each other and when these things are discussed, we should see if we are also missing the lord.

This is our misfortune, that we think we can live in separation from the lord. As it is said, what sort of life is that? Some people say like this but I am saying, ‘what sort of life is this, to live without Krishna? What life is this without the supreme lord?’ For the soul the only life is Krishna otherwise there is only death or there is death again and again.

punarapi jananam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare sayanam, iha samsare bahudusare krpaya’pare pahi murare
(Sankarachrya bhaja govindam verse 21)

Translation
Being born again, dying again, and again lying in the mother’s womb; this samsara is extremely difficult to cross over. Save me, O destroyer of Mura, through your infinite compassion.

Sankarachrya has sung this in the bhaja govindam bhajan. Bhaja govindam bhaja govindam govindam bhajamudhamate.

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
govindam bhajamudhamate
samprapte sannihite kale
nahi nahi raksati dukrumkarane
(Sankarachrya bhaja govindam verse 1)

Translation
Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death

‘You fool! What should you do? bhaja govindam. Govindam bhajamudhamate. Worship Govinda.

In Varanasi there was one Maha Pandit, a great expert knower of Sanskrit and he kept speaking Sanskrit and he was the one Sankarachrya was speaking to when he said ‘oh fool bhaja Govindam, worship Govindam.’ And what is that one bhaje Pandurangam?

When Sankarachrya cane to Pandharpura, I was supposed to be speaking on another subject but anyway when he came to Pandharpura he took darshan of Pandharinath, of Vitthal Rukmini. Then he wrote one Astaka called the Panduranga Astaka, Panduranga Panduranga. In this Astaka he says Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam. Lingam means the form , although those who preach Advaita, about the formless and the lord who has no qualities are called Mayavadi’s.

Sankarachrya had come to preach this Mayavada and he did this also but those who preach like this say that the lord has no form and neither does the lord have any qualities also. That Sankarachrya who was preaching that the lord was formless and without qualities came to Pandharpura and started saying ‘bhaja Govindam.’ Actually this he was already saying in Varanasi and so when he came to Pandharpura he said ‘Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam.’

You say it to, Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam, Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam. I was speaking or rather I was asking if we really miss Krishna and I was also reminding everyone that we must miss the lord. We have to think of the lord to be able to miss him and so when Krishna had to go to Kuruksetra to bathe in the lake calles Surya Kunda, Dwarakadhish sent a personal letter addressed to the residents of Vrindavan, to each individual. He sent a hand written letter, not typed because typed is not personal.

He signed it ‘yours sincerely Dwarakadhish.’ When that letter was received by Nanda Baba and even Radharani and the Gopis, the cowherd boys, everyone had a personal invitation. There was no limit to the joy of all the residents of Vrindavan who shouted ‘we will go! Kuruksetra dham ki jai! Let’s go to Kuruksetra, let’s go to Kuruksetra!’ I was trying to say in brief that in Kuruksetra there was a meeting between the residents of Dwaraka and Dwarakadhish with the residents of Vrindavan, the Brajavasi’s. There was a great reunion.

itidrk sva lilabhir ananda kunde sva ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam
tadiyesita jnesu bhaktair jitatvam punah prematas tam satavrtti vande
(Damodarastakam verse 3)

Translation
By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbues with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.

The joy and pastimes of that meeting was enjoyed by all who were present there in Kuruksetra and there manifested a lake or ocean which was made of joy. Anandambudhi vardhanam prati padam purnamrtasvadanam

ceto darpana marjanam bhava maha davagni nirvapanam sreyah kairava candrika vitaranam vidya vadhu jivanam anandambudhi vardhanam prati padam purnamrtasvadanam sarvatma snapanam param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam
(Siksastakam 1)

Translation
Glory to the sri-krsna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

So purnamrtasvadanam, they were tasting that joy and so the residents of Vrindavan had gone there at this time to Kuruksetra with a decision which they had made and what was that? ‘When we meet Krishna this time, and Balarama will also be there, we will not let them go back again to Dwaraka. We will instead bring then to Vrindavan!’

This was the decision which they had made and how they would bring them to Vrindavan? ‘As the lord was Dwarakadhish, he will certainly come in a chariot,’but the residents of Vrindavan had gone in ox carts.’ The residents if Dwaraka had come in many chariots and there were kings and warriors amongst that gathering and important ministers whereas the business and wealth of the residents of Vrindavan is the cows, Go dhan.

They had many ox’s also and that is how they would travel, in ox carts within Gokul or Vrindavan and so in the same way they had gone to Kuruksetra in the ox carts. Then they were thinking ‘when Krishna and Balaram along with their sister Subhadra would be sitting on their chariot, there may be horses to pull them but we will tell the horses to get out! We will remove those horses and we ourselves will become the horses!

If it is necessary, we can also become donkey’s for the lord, why not? Whether it be a horse or a donkey, it doesn’t matter. We will become that for the supreme lord and we will pull that chariot and bring Krishna and Balaram back to Vrindavan.’ In Jagannath Puri there is a festival of Jagannatha Rathayatra, is there or not? You must have heard of it. There every year, this Rathayatra festival is held in commemoration of this meeting of Kuruksetra.

Krishna did not go to Vrindavan but the attempt was made to take bring Krishna’s chariot by pulling it to Vrindavan. The Jagannatha temple in Jagannatha Puri is the same as Dwaraka or Kuruksetra and there is one more temple in Jagannatha Puri which is called the Gundica temple. This Gundica temple is Vrindavan so when Ratha Yatra in Puri takes place, the people who pull the chariot are in the mood of the residents of Vrindavan, the devotees of Vrindavan.

You could also say they are in Gopi Bhava, the mood of the Gopis or of Nanda Baba in Vatsalya, the mood of parental affection. They could also be in Sakhya Bhava, Like the friends of the lord. They come and take those moods and the they pull Jagannatha’s chariot from Dwaraka or Kuruksetra towards the Gundica temple or Vrindavan. You can say that Jagannatha Rathayatra has this history and the story we have just told behind it.

These are all stories of history, itihasa. Iti means ‘like this’ and asa means ‘it happened.’ So it literally means this is what happened and this is called itihasa, history. Just like the stories of there was once a king and a queen, first the King and then the Queen. The King was Rama and the Queen was Sita. The story of this King and Queen is not just a story but these are the facts of historical events that occurred.

This was the first time that Krishna had visited Kuruksetra and when he went the second time it was Mahabharata and the Kuruksetra war that was going to happen. Dharma kshetre kuru kshetre samaveta yuyutsavah.

Dhritarashtra uvacha dharma kshetre kuru kshetre samaveta yuyutsavah mamakah pandavashchaiva kimakurvata sanjaya (Bhagavad 1.1)

Translation
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after gathering on the holy field of Kurukshetra, and desiring to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?

At that time the lord had gone to Hastinapura in preparation for the war and both Duryodhan and Arjuna reached at the same time to meet the lord. Both of them wanted the lord’s help and participation in the upcoming war. This is all part of the Mahabharata and so the lord said ‘okay, on one side will be my own army, the Narayana army with one akshauhini in number (218,700) and on the other side I will come myself on my own. Also, I will be there but I will not fight.’

The war that was going to take place is called a pastime of the war in the sastras. It is called a pastime because the lord’s pastimes are about to take place there. So it is not that only the Rasa Lila is a
pastime of the lord, the war that took place is also a pastime due to the the lord being present there. In that pastime at the end Duryodhan took the lord’s Narayan army and then he said or he must have thought ‘oh look at that poor Arjuna! I took the while army with thousands of men and he just got one man.’

yatra yogeshvarah krishno yatra partho dhanur dharah tatra shrie vijayo bhutir dhruva nitir matir mama
(Bhagavad 18.78)

Translation
Wherever there is Shri Krishna, the Lord of all Yoga, and wherever there is Arjun, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be unending opulence, victory, prosperity, and righteousness. Of this, I am certain

This is the last sloka of the Bhagavad wherein Sanjaya has spoken, Sanjaya uvaca but in the first sloka of the Bhagavad it was Dhritarashtra uvaca and Dhritarashtra had asked

Dhritarashtra uvacha dharma kshetre kuru kshetre samaveta yuyutsavah mamakah pandavashchaiva kimakurvata sanjaya
(Bhagavad 1.1)

Translation
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after gathering on the holy field of Kurukshetra, and desiring to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?

So he is asking, ‘kimakurvata?’ What is happening once they have decided to go to the battlefield of Kuruksetra?’ What happens in a war? One party wins and the other one loses, there is only win or loss. That is why the answer to the first question of the first sloka in Bhagavad is given in the last sloka of by Sanjaya. That is why it is said Sanjaya uvaca. In the last five slokas of the Bhagavad are spoken by Sanjaya, Sanjaya uvaca.

Sanjaya has said yatra yogeshvarah krishno yatra partho dhanur dharah, wherever there is Shri Krishna, the Lord of all Yoga, and wherever there is Arjun, the supreme archer, what will be there? Tatra shrie vijayo, there will be unending opulence and there will be victory! Wherever there is the pair of Krishna and Arjun, Krishna and his devotee, there is victory.

So remember this. Also it is said in the Mahabharata,

Jayas tu pandu putranam yesam pakse Janardanah
(Mahabharata)

Translation
Victory is always with persons like the sons of Pandu because Lord Krsna is associated with them

Why will the sons of Pandu be victorious? Yesam pakse Janardanah, Lord Janardana is on their side, Krishna is there on their side and that is why victory is assured for the sons of Pandu. There is also another sloka from the Mahabharata

Yato Dharmastato Jayah
(Mahabharata)

Translation
Where there is Dharma, there will be Victory

There will always be victory where there is righteousness. Satyameva Jayate na anrtam, the truth always prevails. Why is it said ‘eva jayate?’ They could have said ‘satyam jayate’ but no, it is ‘satyameva jayate.’ Eva means only, it is emphasised in this way to show that only the truth can prevail. Not that the truth prevails but only the truth prevails. Satyameva jayate. Usually we hear only these two words but there is another part to this saying, nanritam.

This word nanritam means that victory can never come to the untruth, to those who speak falsely and who lie. Na means not and ritam means truth so nanritam is untruth. Hari Hari. Let me tell you first and then I will come back to the war, the third time Krishna comes to Kuruksetra is after the war has ended. Krishna goes to Hastinapur with the Pandavas and King Yuddhishtir. He then begins to stay in Hastinapura and before the war it was Arjun’s turn to grieve and he was so worried and full if grief.

That is why lord Krishnahad to speak the message of the Bhagavad and then after the war King Yuddhishtir is grieving,‘because of me, for me sixty four crore people had to die including our own friends and relatives and these and those. All this just for me to become the King!’ Krishna was explaining and appeasing them. Firstly Krishna by speaking the message of the Gita to Arjun became famous as the speaker of the Bhagavad . At the end Arjun says

nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat prasadan mayacyuta
sthito ‘smi gata sandehah
karisye vacanam tava
(Bhagavad 18.73)

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

These are Arjun’s last words in the conversation between Krishna and Arjun- karisye vacanam tava. This is the end of the eighteenth chapter and the few slokas that are left at the end are spoken by Sanjaya. So Arjun says ‘karisye vacanam tava, I will act according to your order and I will fulfill your desires.’ This is where the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun ends.

Arjun then says that he has no doubts left within his mind and he has become fixed in his mind by listening to the words spoken by Krishna in the . He has become steadily fixed and sober. Even though Krishna was trying to make Yuddhishtir understand for two months in Hastinapur, he continued to lament. At this time they het the news that Grandfather Bhishma is about to leave his body.

Upon hearing this, Krishna and the five Pandava’s ran to that place, back to Kuruksetra and there is a description of this in the Mahabharata. There were so many Kings and sages who had assembled there when they found out that Grandfather Bhishma was about to depart. Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead of course, as is Balaram, but amongst all men and devotees, Bhishma is a great personality and he was a great grandfather. His age was around four hundred years and he was a greatly respected personality and so on.

He was of great character and he was respected by the Pandavas and by everyone. He was called ‘Gangeya’ because he was the son of Ganga and he had come down to earth after taking so many lessons and instructions in the heavenly planets. His spiritual master was the supreme lord Parashurama who instructed him in the heavenly abode and that is why when he came from the heavenly planets to earth, he was known a Devavrata.

Then also he had taken a vow so that his father King Santanu could marry the fisherwoman. What was the vow he took? ‘I will be a lifelong Brahmacari!’ This is a great vow. There are many vows that a person can make but this Brahmacari vow is called a Brihad Vrata. ‘I will never get married and I will remain a Brahmacari throughout my whole life!’ When the Gods heard this, they cried ‘what?! This is a very Bhishan vow, a terrible vow. How can the son of a great King take such a vow?’

This is how he got the name Bhishma. In this Kuruksetra war, he was fighting on the side of Duryodhan and he was also the commander in chief for the army. The war went on for eighteen days and the Bhagavad has eighteen chapters also. Hari Hari. The Mahabharata has eighteen Parva’s and one of these parts (Parva) is called Bhishma Parva. You can call the Parva a part or a chapter and the Bhishma Parva starts from chapter twenty five till forty two.

The forty second of chapter of Bhishma Parva is the eighteenth chapter of the Bhagavad gita which means that the Bhagavad gita is basically a small part of Mahabharata which has one hundred thousand slokas. Srila Prabhupada used to say that Mahabharata is the history of Greater India. Bhagavad gita is a part of Mahabharata and because we are Hindus or this or that, we do not sometimes realise that the Bhagavad gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam are two depending books.

So many people think this but I will not ask you all here how many of you know this and how many of you don’t know this. The Gita has been spoken by the lord in Kuruksetra and it has seven hundred slokas and Srimad Bhagavatam is a great book with eighteen thousand slokas in it and twelve cantos. There are three hundred and thirty five chapters, do you understand what a chapter is?

Just like in the Gita there are eighteen chapters, so in Srimad Bhagavatam there are three hundred and thirty five chapters and eighteen thousand slokas. The speaker is Srimad Bhagavatam is Sukadeva Goswami who spoke the Bhagavatam on the outskirts of Hastinapura on the banks of the Ganges. This is where King Parikshit had left his Kingdom and everything, he had become completely renounced and he had come to this place.

All the saints and sages had reached this place and Sukadeva Goswami was welcomed there and this place is called ‘Shuktaal and that tree is there also. That is where Sukadeva Goswami sat, under that tree for seven days reciting the Bhagavatam. That is why it is called a ‘Bhagavad Sapta,’ because Sapta means seven days and that is for how long Sukadeva Goswami’s recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam went on for. Srimad Bhagavatam is like the Puranas and it has
the history of the whole universe in it.

I wont speak on it now but it describes the creation of the universe also and it has so many other things. The Bhagavatam has ten topics and it is the description of the pastimes of the lord and his devotees. The incarnations of the lord who we were describing and speaking of yesterday, all these are described in detail along with the instructions and pastimes of the different incarnations.

Out of the three hundred and thirty five chapters, take note of this- the ninth chapter is a description of Sri Krishna himself. Out of the whole Bhagavatam, the ninth chapter which is the tenth canto is the description of lord Krishna and the eleventh canto has another Gita in it. One is the Bhagavad gita from the Mahabharata but in the eleventh canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam there is one more Gita.

This Gita is also spoken by lord Krishna but this Gita has a different name which is Uddhava gita. Who knew that? Have you heard of this before? Uddhava gita. It has more chapters and slokas than the Bhagavad gita and that is also a Gita, a song of God spoken by Krishna himself. There is a dialogue in the Uddhava gita between Uddhava and Krishna which is in this Uddhava gita but the name given in this is Uddhava’s name, not the lord’s name.

In one sense you can say that Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam are two separate books but when put together they become one complete work. They compliment each other, the Gita and Bhagavatam or you could say that the Gita ends with Krishna’s instruction

sarva dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
(Bhagavad gita 18.66)

Translation
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

But when we open the Bhagavatam what are the first words? Om namo bhagavate Vasudevaya. This is where it begins, telling one to take shelter of the supreme lord Vasudeva. Lord Krishna kept emphasising in Bhagavad gita to Arjun to take shelter of the lord, or rather the spirit soul should take shelter of the supreme lord but the whole of Bhagavatam is the topic of those already under the shelter of the lord. satyam param dhimahi are the words of the first verse of the first chapter in the first canto.

We meditate, dhimahi upon whom? Satyam param, the supreme lord is satya, the supreme truth is the lord. So okay, back to Kuruksetra which is where we were more or less and Krishna has taken the five Pandavas and reached Kuruksetra and there is a gathering of sages who have also come there. From the tenth day of the battle of Kuruksetra till the day of Makar Sankranti, what happens on the 14th of January?

Makar Sankranti. This is when the sun travels from the south hemisphere to the northern hemisphere by changing it’s direction. Also Grandfather Bhishma who had received a blessing from his father, what was that blessing? ‘you can die whenever you desire, and not before then. You will be able to leave your body by your own will. No one will be able to kill you.’ We have a curse upon us but he had gained a blessing. The war went on for many days and even those who survived the war had left for their own kingdoms and the ones who died were dead and gone but Bhishma was still there on a bed of arrows.

So he is just lying there and when the lord arrives there with the Pandavas, Bhishma requests ‘get me some water.’ Duryodhan and his party should not have been present there but they were there and so Duryodhan bought back a vase full of water. ‘No, no not this water! I need Ganga jal, the Ganges water.’ So Arjun took out his famous bow the Gandiva and the water of the Ganges appeared from the earth and went straight into the mouth of Grandfather Bhishma.

Because his arms were busy as they had been tied down in the bed of arrows so he couldn’t drink with his arms, so Arjun arranged like this for him to be able to drink Ganges water. Arjun ki jai! This is Arjun, the greatest archer, he was the number one, at least he was the best of his time. There was a person called Ekalavya who was also a great archer but he was asked by Drona, ‘give me your thumb as my fee’s for being your Guru.’

So his number went down and in this way Arjun remained the number one archer. So over there, King Yuddhishtir who was still lamenting over the outcome of the war , had a dialogue which was in that him and Grandfather Bhishma. So in that dialogue, whatever Grandfather Bhishma said to him made that grief go away. Just like Arjun said in the Gita ‘nasto mohah smrtir labdha tvat prasadan mayacyuta’

nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat prasadan mayacyuta
sthito ‘smi gata sandehah
karisye vacanam tava
(Bhagavad gita 18.73)

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

In the same way, when King Yuddhishtir heard the words of Grandfather Bhishma he became free from illusion, doubt and lamentation. The lord was showing the world that ‘the message of my devotee, whatever words come out of the lotus mouth of my devotee is even more powerful than my own words.’ He is demonstrating this here in this incident where the lord was so tired trying to explain these things to King Yuddhishtir, but here Grandfather Bhishma got the glory of instructing the King and all who were present there.

Also King Yuddhishtir became peaceful and happy and along with all these happenings, Grandfather Bhishma is now getting ready to leave his body. He will get ready to leave his body now and the way in which he will do leave his body and his situation at this point is a very difficult situation which he is in. There are very few instances of someone leaving their body in such a way because we were singing just yesterday

Itna to karna swami, jab prana tan se nikale
govinda nama leke, tab prana tan se nikale

Translation
Oh Lord, Please do this much, when the soul leaves my body, that I take Your beautiful name of Govinda.

Then we add to the last part, ‘oh lord you too should come at that time to give your darshan and may it be on the bank of the Ganges.’ In those days the river Saraswati used to flow through the Ganges but now it does not flow there. So we can say on the banks of the Saraswati and especially in the presence of lord Krishna, having darshan of the lotus face and the lotus feet and all the limbs of the lord, meditating on the form of the lord, Grandfather Bhishma left his body.

Grandfather Bhishmadeva ki jai! So this was the third time in which Krishna came to Kuruksetra. I will speak a little about the second time the lord went to Hastinapura in the time we have left. This is during the time of the war, when war was still going in and Krishna said that he will be there in the battlefield but he will not fight. So the lord has come there and just see which role he has taken. Krishna has become Partha Sarathi, have you heard this name before?

Partha meaning Arjun and he has become the sarathi, the chariot driver of Arjun. Krishna has become a driver! What can Krishna not become for his devotee. Before this he had also become a messenger and he had gone to Hastinapura to compromise before the war. That time when he went, he had pleaded on behalf of the Pandavas, ‘if you cannot give them half the kingdom then at least give them five villages.’ Krishna had made a suggestion like this but the answer he got was ‘five villages are a lot!

I will not give them the land in which you could fit the point of a needle!’ Then from one viewpoint the lord’s mission was unsuccessful so the only other solution was to have the war. This was all after the Pandavas were exiled to the forest of twelve years, was it twelve or fourteen years? Twelve years yes, lord Rama’s exile was fourteen years and the Pandavas also had to stay incognito, in hiding for a year and the Kingdom of Virat is where they chose to hide, where Krishna and Balaram came to see them.

From there Krishna was asked to go to Hastinapura with the suggestionof the five villages and that is when Duryodhan tried to arrest lord Krishna. What did the lord do? He showed his universal form, ‘try to arrest me. You can’t do anything!’ He had also arranged beforehand a big party and welcome and he wanted to host a meal for the lord, but Duryodhan’s nature was so wicked and he was also so arrogant amd the lord could smell the foul smell of his arrogance.

The lord therefore did not accept the invitation to eat at the place of Duryodhan and in fact the lord left his place. Because the lord is going to soon say in the ninth chapter of the Gita, ‘patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati.’

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
(Bhagavad gita 9.26)

Translation
If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit a water, I will accept it

The lord has said in the ninth chapter, ‘patram puspam phalam toyam’ which means vegetarian food. Actually we should not even be taking a vegetarian diet because we need to be
Krishna-tarian. This means that anything we eat shouldn’t be offered to the lord first because the lord is the enjoyer as he has said in the Gita ‘bhoktaram yajna. tapasam’

bhoktaram yajna tapasam
sarva loka mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
(Bhagavad gita 5.29)

Translation
The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries

The food, the ingredients should be for the lord’s enjoyment and the when he eats that it becomes Prashad, mercy which is for us. One time lord Krishna went to the home of Vidhura and Vidhura was living in a small little cottage along with Vidhurani, his wife and when Krishna came, well Krishna is like a VVVIP. He is a very, very, very important person and so when the lord came to their little home they both got confused. ‘How shall we welcome the lord properly? Where shall we sit the lord and what can we offer him? What can we offer him to eat?’

At that time, the wife of Vidhura, Vidhurani cut banana skins on a plate instead of the banana. She threw the banana into the dustbin or threw it to one side and instead she kept the skin on the plate and she was cutting that banana skin and feeding it to the lord. When Krishna was eating this he was thinking ‘aaaahh, I have not had a meal like this in my whole life. It is so sweet.’ So we can see what the supreme lord is hungry for. He is hungry for our devotion and our love because the whole world belongs to him, including all the greens and food stuffs he has everything.
He is the one who gives to us all that we have. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman.

nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
tam atmastham ye ‘nupasyanti dhiras
tesam santih sasvati netaresam
(Katha upanisad 2.2.13)

Translation
The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the
Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many other living entities

Krishna is the one who fulfils the desires of everyone, and so what could we actually feed him? Krishna is not hungry but here Vidhurani pleased him by her act of devotion just like Sabari had pleased lord Rama. Who says that the lord does not eat? Of course he does but we do not feed him in the same manner that Sabari or Vidhurani did or how Yashoda used to feed the lord. That is why Krishna may not be eating now.

Mostly people do not eat patram puspam phalam toyam but instead of these vegetables and fruits they are eating mutton and chicken. Hari Hari. This is not the diet for Krishna and this is not the menu for us humans either and this is an abomination. So Krishna has brought Arjun and is reaching Kuruksetra and there is a description in the Gita

tatah shvetairhayairyukte mahati syandane sthitau madhavah pandavashchaiva divyau shankhau pradadhmatuh
(Bhagavad gita 1.14)

Translation
Then, from amidst the Pandava army, seated in a glorious chariot drawn by white horses, Madhav and Arjun blew their Divine conch shells

The lord is driving a great chariot which is being pulled by white horses, shvetair. Sitting on that chariot are Madhava, Krishna and Pandava who is Arjun. Just as they entered the battlefield, divyau shankhau, they both sounded their divine conches. The lord’s conch shell was named Pancajanya, yes there is a name for the conch and Devadattam dhananjayah. Dhananjayah is another name of Arjun’s because he was known as one who could get wealth.

What did Dhananjayah do? He blew his divine conch which was named Devadattam and just as the chariot goes further into the battlefield, Arjun says, ‘let me see who has come here to fight with me! Who can fight with me, who dares to do so?!’ His blood is boiling and he is very enthusiastic to fight and so just as they reach there Arjun says to Krishna senayor ubhayor madhye ratha? sthapaya me ’chyuta

senayor ubhayor madhye ratha? sthapaya me ’chyuta yavadetan nirikshe ’ham yoddhu kaman avasthitan kairmaya saha yoddhavyam asmin rana samudyame
(Bhagavad gita 1.22-22)

Translation
Arjun said: O Infallible One, please take my chariot to the middle of both armies, so that I may look at the warriors arrayed for battle, whom I must fight in this great combat.

So Arjun tells Krishna ‘senayor ubhayor madhye- please take my chariot in between both armies, just take it more forward.’ So Krishna took the chariot forward and put it in between both the armies. If you go even today- have any of you been to Kuruksetra? Put your hand up properly otherwise I cannot see. I know you all have arms but if you have gone then.. Okay some hands are going up. His Holiness Sundar Caitanya Maharaja has also been to Kuruksetra so Kuruksetra dham ki jai!

So that place where Arjun had told Krishna to put his chariot in between both armies, that place now has a chariot and deities of Krishna and Arjun are sitting on that chariot. That chariot is in the exact location of where the chariot was places by Krishna upon Arjun’s request. There is also a tree there which is called Akshayavata.

Krishna’s message of the Gita has not yet started in where I am telling you this story but the message that we know Krishna will tell, that message of the Gita was also heard by this tree. This tree then became immortal and he was a witness and he is there still today, you can see, yes? You are sitting here, but you are taking darshan of that tree so pay your obeisances to the tree and that dham, Kuruksetra.

When Krishna took the chariot in the middle of both armies, the lord began to speak. And whatever I speak today of what Krishna speaks in the Bhagavad gita, this has all been spoken by the lord in the first chapter of Bhagavad gita, so it is only half of what is actually being said. The lord says ‘pasyaitan- look Arjun. You wanted to see who had come here to fight against you didnt you? So see here!’

bhisma drona pramukhatah
sarvesam ca mahi ksitam
uvaca partha pasyaitan
samavetan kurun iti
(Bhagavad gita 1.25)

Translation
In the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all other chieftains of the world, Hrsikesa, the Lord, said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus who are assembled here.

Pasyaitan samavetan kurun. It is the Kaurava’s who have come together to fight. When Arjun heard this, he became very much affected and with this Arjun is going to make a U-turn. Before he had a strong desire and so much enthusiasm to fight like a hero but now he will become lax. Gradually Arjun will start saying ‘no no no. You are telling me to fight and that is the reason for us coming here but now mukham ca parisusyati, my throat is drying up. Sidanti mama gatrani, the limbs of my body quivering and gandivam sramsate hastat. My great Gandiva bow is slipping from my hands and you are asking me to fight?

arjuna uvaca
drstvemam sva janam krsna
yuyutsum samupasthitam
sidanti mama gatrani
mukham ca parisusyati
(Bhagavad gita 1.28)

Translation
Arjuna said: My dear K???a, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.

‘Na ca rajyam sukhani ca, I do not want the Kingdom and hatva sva janam ahave, I do not want to kill my own people, my Kingsmen. Sreyo ’nupasyami, I cannot see how any good can come out of this.’

na ca sreyo ’nupasyami
hatva sva janam ahave
na kankse vijayam krsna
na ca rajyam sukhani ca
(Bhagavad gita 1.31)

Translation
I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear K???a, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom or happiness.

Arjun went on and on like this, giving his reasons and at the end Arjun has sat upon the chariot and he has put down his bow and arrow. So this bewildered, confused and sorrowful Arjun needs to be pulled up to stand again. Because one cannot fight whilst sitting down, how is one supposed to fight? By standing up, and if one is sitting then what is to be said to him? ‘Get up!’ Fighting is always done by standing whereas one has a conversation whilst sitting and Arjun is sitting which means?

Anyway, when there is a cart being pulled by a buffalo and there is a big load on that cart and there is a lot of heat on a hot summers day, sometimes the buffalo does not want to pull the cart. Then the farmer or whoever is controlling the buffalo will hit him with a stick so he gets up and then he goes a little further and sits again. Then the farmer will hit him again and so he will go a little further and finally what happens? He sits down and he is saying ‘no more, finished, full stop. I do not want to go further and I do not want to pull this cart!’ So in the same way Arjun sat down and said ‘no war, no fighting.’ Then Krishna speaks his instructions in the Bhagavad gita and in the seventeen chapter especially the lord has said so much and shown so much.

What can be said? Do you all know where Kuruksetra is? It is in the north of Delhi and during the war, Dhritarashtra is sitting in Hastinapura and Sanjaya is there also. So by sitting in Hastinapura, Sanjaya had darshan from far away. It is like a television and he can see what is happening on the battlefield of Kuruksetra whilst sitting in Hastinapura. He is watching the scene and he is even listening to Krishna’s instructions of the Gita.

He is also narrating all this back to Dhritarashtra and he is even having knowledge of what everyone is thinking! Just like he says at the end of the Gita
‘Vyasa-prasadac chrutavan.’

vyasa prasadac chrutavan
etad guhyam aham param
yogam yogesvarat krsnat
saksat kathayatah svayam
(Bhagavad gita 18.75)

Translation
By the mercy of Vyasa, I have heard these most confidential talks directly from the master of all mysticism, Krsna, who was speaking personally to Arjuna

Before the war Srila Vyasadeva had Dhritarashtra and had told him, ‘I can give you sight as you are blind.’ But Dhritarashtra said, ‘oh no no no. I don’t want sight because I will see my sons being killed. Please do not give me vision and do not open my eyes. If you like then you can give Sanjaya this power of attorney.’ That is exactly what happened and honesty is the best policy which is why Sanjaya said at the end of the Gita, Vyasa prasadac.

By the mercy of Vyasa I was able to see and hear all that was happening at Kuruksetra and Sanjaya then narrated everything that was happening on the battlefield to Dhrtarastra whilst sitting in Hastinapura. This Kuruksetra is the place which was ruled once by King Kuru. That is why it is called Kuruksetra, it is the Ksetra, land of Kuru. There was a Kingdom called Kuru close to Kuruksetra and Panchal was also close by.

Panchal is where Draupadi was born and therefore she was known as the daughter of Drupada, Panchali. So both these were both close to each other, it is only recently that they became different states. You can see the map which is five thousand years old and Kuruksetra is in itself a Kingdom also and Panchal is close by, you can see Panchal here. There is also the Kingdom of Kosala close by and also Wardha is there. Five thousand years ago Maharashtra was also there and South India was called Pancha Dravida.

In the sastras, the place we now know as Gujarat was called Gurjaradesa, this is mentioned in the Puranas. Ww cannot say how important Gita is, how great it is. Just like yesterday I was telling you, ‘nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam. Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures

nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam
suka mukhad amrta drava samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah
(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.3)

Translation
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Goswami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.

In the Bhagavatam it is said that the Gita is also called Gita upanisad. Sarvopanishado gavo, there was a description of the gita where is was said that there was a tree made up of all the scriptures. And in regards to the gita it was said that the cow is made up of all the Upanisads and dogdha gopalanandana. Who is milking the calf? Gopalanandana is Krishna and if there is a cow who is being milked then there must be calf. Parthovatsa, Partha is the Vatsa, the calf.

Sudheerbhoktha, those persons who are intelligent will listen and give attention to the gita. In this way the gita’s milk is described as Amrita, nectar.

sarvopanishado gavo dogdha gopalanandana parthovatsa sudheerbhoktha dugdham gitamrutam mahat
(gita Mahatmya 4)

Translation
The Bhagavad gita is just like a cow, and Lord Krishna who is a cowherd boy, is milking this cow. The milk is the essence of the Vedas, and Arjun is just like a calf. The wise men, the great sages and pure devotees, are to drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad gita

bharatamrta sarvasvam
visnu vaktrad vinihsrtam
gita gangodakam pitva
punar janma na vidyate
(gita Mahatmya 5)

One who drinks the water of the Ganges attains salvation, so what to speak of one who drinks the nectar of Bhagavad gita? Bhagavad gita is the essential nectar of the Mahabharata, and it is spoken by Lord K???a Himself, the original Visnu.

The lord has given us his mercy in so many ways and the Bhagavad gita is one of the most important gift. It is the lord’s message and as the lord left the earthly planet, he wrote a letter for us and he left that behind. What is that letter? It is the Bhagavad gita and Arjun was made just the via medium for us to receive the instructions of the Gita.

The whole point in the lord reciting the gita was for us, we are the targets for his recitation of Bhagavad gita. This is why we must study Bhagavad gita in this human form of life which we have received with so much different.

ekam sastram devaki putra gitam
eko devo devaki putra eva
eko mantras tasya namani yani
karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva
(Gita-mahatmya 7)

There need be only one holy scripture – the divine Gita sung by Lord Sri Krishna, only one worshipable Lord – Lord Sri Krishna, only one mantra – His holy names, and only one duty – devotional service unto that Supreme worshipable Lord Sri Krishna.

Ekam sastram devaki putra gitam, one scripture is enough, and what is that? Devaki putra gitam, the song of the son of Devaki, that one sastra is enough. Eko devo devaki putra eva, there should be just one God, and anyway that is the case and who is that adi deva? Devaki putra Krishna is the only one lord and that is also sufficient.

One sastra and one lord, then eko mantras tasya namani yani. One mantra for the whole world is sufficient

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

We all should have one job, only one occupation and what is that? Tasya devasya seva, only the service of the lord should be our work and our life. We must always be ready for performing service of the lord, this is what Bhagavad Gita teaches us, it teaches Bhakti Yoga. The international society of Krishna consciousness ki jai, this is also called Iskcon and it’s founder Acharya is Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

Srila Prabhupada presented the Bhagavad gita and he gave it the name Bhagavad gita as it is, and there is a reason behind why Srila Prabhupada called it this but it will take a lot of time to tell you. Anyway there’s no time but I recommend this Bhagavad gita for all of you and this Bhagavad gita is available in how many languages is gita translated in, Maharaja, do you know?

Seventy or eighty? Oh, Bhagavad gita has been translated in eighty languages! This includes Chinese and Swahili for Africans, Hebrew and this one and that one. In eighty languages. And the local devotees of each of these countries are distributing the Bhagavad gita to the people of each country. Devotees are joining and that is why it must be called Bhagavad gita as it is.

Arjun became free from his illusion and he then became ready in his service to the lord, in the same way by reading this Bhagavd gita, thousands and millions of people in over one hundred countries are coming to serve the lord! This is a fact and even in China they have stopped eating mutton and chicken and even rats, they eat everything including rats. I went there a few years back and I found out that they have bread there but which type of bread?

Ant bread, made out of ants and they showed me many fields, ‘this is a red any field and this is a white ant field, this is that kind of field’ and so one kind of ants are put into a certain bread and different ants are put to make a different bread. Whoever will eat this bread is certainly not a human being but a demon. This is why people are becoming diseased and Yuhuan in China is where Covid 19 started.

Then they spread this Covid throughout the whole world and then then the poor Chinese people themselves got it infected. Anyway we pray for the many persons who are losing their lives. We are made from the food we eat and you will think accordingly to what you eat. They say ‘you are what you eat.’ Our body is made of whatever we eat but along with this, the mind is also influenced by what we eat.

Depending on whether we are eating in the mode of ignorance, passion or goodness, we become as such body and mind. It’s a big topic and the three modes of material nature make up one whole chapter of the Bhagavad gita and it is very important. So all if you please be sure to read Bhagavad gita and the Bhagavad gita is here also for you to take. I also thought to speak upon this topic today because in this month of December the lord spoke the Bhagavad gita.

We also know the day, it was on the day of Mokshada Ekadasi and at what time if the day did Krishna speak the Gita? At seven o clock in the morning, at the time of sunrise. The Mahabharata war was a righteous war, so from sunrise it would begin until sunset when it would end daily. So in this way the supreme lord spoke these instructions in the morning at Kuruksetra. Our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada had also gone there to Kuruksetra in 1975 to see some land and open an Iskcon temple there.

At that time the Prime Minister of India was Gulzarilal Nanda and he was only the Prime Minister for a short time and he became friends with Prabhupada. He had shown Prabhupada this land at Kuruksetra and now I remembered something, as Srila Prabhupada came to Vrindavan from Kuruksetra, the next day Srila Prabhupada on the 6th of December 1975 gave me Sannyasa initiation (shouts of Haribol)!

You are all looking at my Danda, please dont be scared that ‘Maharaja has a Danda.’ It is there for your protection and so Srila Prabhupada gave me a Danda and made me a Tridandi Sannyasi as he returned from Kuruksetra. The eighteenth chapter is called ‘Sannyasa Yoga’ and in this very Kuruksetra there is now an Iskcon temple being constructed called ‘Sri Sri Krishna Arjun Mandir.’

It will look something like this and it the temple inauguration is going to happen in maybe a year or so it could happen. Also this Bhagavad gita is being distributed throughout the world and it has already been distributed to literally ten million people. In China, in America, in Africa, everywhere. The people of those countries are becoming Krishna devotees by reading Bhagavad gita and then they’re distributing Bhagavad gita.

So you all take Bhagavad gita as it is, many people take Bhagavad gita as it is and they keep it somewhere in their home as it is. ‘I have Bhagavad gita as it is and it is still as it was when I bought it.’ So do not just take it home and leave it as it is but open it and please read. When you read it the lord will talk to you, okay I think we have a short clip to show about changing bodies. We are always changing bodies and going from one body to another. The lord has said dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
(Bhagavad 2.13)

Translation
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change

Srimad Bhagavad Katha Day 1
Pune Hadapsar
December 25th 2022

The desire is to continuously sing, I dint know if you feel the same way or not. What I will now speak will be similar to a song. Hari Hari. Lord Krishna has spoken the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Bhagavad uvaca.
It says that the supreme lord spoke, but what is the name of the book? Bhagavad Gita. Even though it is mentioning that the lord spoke, the book is called Bhagavad Gita which means the song of God.

In this way, the words and things spoken in relation to the supreme lord is also Gita, a song. The lord has said ‘yatra gayanti mad bhaktah tatra tisthami narada.’

naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad bhaktah
(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.21.41 purport)

Translation
“I am not in Vaiku??ha nor in the hearts of the yog?s. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities.” It is to be understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not leave the company of His devotees

I have not welcomed you yet properly, but you have all been officially welcomed as I was doing kirtan. In Maharashtra those who sing kirtan are called kirtankar’s. They do not only sing, they speak as well but regardless they are called kirtankar’s. So on my behalf and on behalf of all the devotees I give you all a great welcome. I am indebted to you and I praise you all. By this what I mean to say is that I am very pleased that you are not spending this time in some shoppers mall somewhere.

There are so many places you could be, you did not go to Goa and instead you have reached here where the Hare Krishna festival is about to begin! Bhagavatam katha is also going to begin now and so I’m sure you all must have understood this to be most important and that is why I am calling you all very intelligent. Or rather the lord gave you this intelligence as he is the one who says dadami buddhi yogam tam yena mam upayanti te.

tesham satata yuktanam bhajatam priti purvakam
dadami Buddha yogam tam yena mam upayanti te
(Bhagavad Gita 10.10)

Translation
To those whose minds are always united with Me in loving devotion, I give the divine knowledge by which they can attain Me

He says that he gives one intelligence so they can use that intelligence in which way? ‘Mam upatyanti te, so that they may come towards me. For this reason i give one intelligence.’ The lord gave you all the right intelligence otherwise sometimes what happens is vinash kale viparit buddhi, one’s intelligence becomes destructive. Here this is not the case because here it is not vinash, it is vikash which will happen, enlightenment. The lord is about to become manifest here.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is sung, spoken and it is also heard.
Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada sevanam.

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma nivedanam
(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23)

Translation
Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vi??u, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.

Sravan is hearing and kirtan which is singing- what happens when these are performed? Visnu smaranam or Krishna smaranam or else Rama or Panduranga smaranam. By performing chanting and hearing one remembers the supreme lord and wherever there is kirtan and where there is talk of Krishna, the lord says that he appears in that place.

The four kumaras where performing Bhagavad Katha. Bhagavad katha Mahotsava ki jai! This was taking place in Haridwar and in this katha Bhakti Devi and her two sons, do you know their names? Jyana, knowledge and the second one is Vairagya, renunciation. These two are the sons of Bhajti Devi and this history is quite complicated. This important katha was arranged for Bhakti Devi and her two sons Jyana and Vairagya.

Narada Muni had arranged this all himself and the katha was going on with the four kumaras leading in Haridwar on the banks of the Ganges. Hari Hari. Jyana and Vairagya along with Bhakti Devi herself were born in Dravida Desh- i am going back in history now. Bhakti Devi and her two sons were bought up and kept in Maharashtra and this history is narrated in the padma purana.

But when Bhakti Devi alomg with Jnana and Vairagya reached the province of Gujarat, they became old and sick. With much difficulty – no offence to any Gujarati’s who may be present here, all glories to Gujarat and Maharashtra. Actually all glories to Bharata. So everyone has been glorified, and so when these three reached Vrindavan, this in the place where Bhakti itself is dancing.

So here Bhakti Devi stayed and therefore her health became better but Jnana and Vairagya were still very sick. So what to do? Narada Muni wrote a prescription which was to listen to Bhagavad Katha. ‘If they listen to Bhagavad katha they will become better.’ So there is Bhagavad Katha happening for this reason and the four kumaras are there to do this, headed by Sanaka and Sanatana and others.

They are performing katha, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. This is the way to start discourses on Bhagavatam and we did the same here just now by saying ‘om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.’ I was about to say that this type of katha – vasudeve bhagavati bhakti yogah prayojitah.

vasudeve bhagavati
bhakti yogah prayojitah
janayaty asu vairagyam
jnanam yad brahma darsanam
(Srimad Bhagavatam 3.32.23)

Translation
Engagement in Krsna consciousness and application of devotional service unto Krsna make it possible to advance in knowledge and detachment, as well as in self-realization

By hearing discourses on Bhagavatam, Bhakti Devi, well just to listen to Bhagavatam is performance of devotional service. It is one of the nine forms of Bhakti which you will have heard of. This is what Prahlad Maharaja describes in the seventh canto. ‘My son, what have you learnt at school? You have come just now on vacation from Gurukula, on Christmas vacation, so what have you learnt?’ Prahlad Maharaja answered,

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma nivedanam
(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23)

Translation
Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vi??u, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.

‘Oh father, I have learnt these nine forms of devotional service. Then what happened? Okay I wont speak on those matters today but my point was to show that hearing and speaking on the subject of the Bhagavatam is devotional service and by performing this kind of devotional service, the four kumara’s were teaching the path of bhakti and they were themselves performing bhakti in this way.

Right now right here I am performing devotional service, kirtan bhakti and all of you are devotees and you are performing devotional service by listening. What sort of devotional service are you all preform in? Sravana, listening. I am doing kirtan, speaking on Krishna lila and you are all listening, sravanam. Sukadeva Goswami was performing kirtan and kimg Parikshit was doing what? Sravanam, listening.

So by performing this devotional service of sravanam kirtanam smaranam and so on, you can see that these are so important. Although there are nine types of devotional service, the most important are this hearing by which the process of devotional service is begun. The first three items are sravanam kirtanam and visnu smaranam. Remembering Vishnu is there also. Like Tukaram Maharaja once said

gita bhagwat kariti shravan, akhand chintan vithobache

Translation
Saint Tukaram is praising pious persons, Where there is unceasing reading of Bhagavad-Gita, Bhagavat and contemplation of Lord Vitthal
(Tukaram Gatha Abhanga 4)

Do you understand Marathi? How many of you understand Marathi! Ninety percent of the audience, Hari! Okay back to Hindi, Tukaram Maharaja said whoever listens to bhagavatam, what will happen? Akhand chintan vithobache, one will be able to always remember lord Vitthal. So sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam, this is what Jnana and Vairagya also did by listening to bhagavad katha and the. They became devotees and they also started to constantly remember the supreme lord, so if in this way one is remembering the supreme lord there is no any other thing which one needs to do. Hari Hari.

So in this bhagavatam discourse which the four kumaras were reciting, then towards the end, kirtan began. And do you know? You may be knowing but I don’t know if you or not, I cant ask you all individually. You must all be thinking ‘what are you asking if we know or not, first tell us.’ So what happened is that the supreme lord himself appeared! Not only the lord appeared but Prahlad Maharaja appeared also and he was playing kartals.

Indra was also there and he was playing the Mridanga and Sukadeva Goswami was reciting bhagavatam. The lord appeared with so many of his associates along with kirtan there started some dancing and Jnana and Vairagya who had been taken from Vrindavan to Haridwar on an Ambulance, upon hearing the kirtan they both jumped up and started to dance They were dancing!

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So the hope and prayer is that we all who may be weak in devotion and in knowledge and renunciation, may we have this strength towards the end. Well no, why towards the end? From the very beginning may we get strength by getting a potion to perform bhakti. What does the world do? It exploits us and we get exhausted but listening to bhagavatam and recitation of bhagavad and kirtan, darshan and yatra and even prashad or Pandharpur yatra and taking bath in river chandrabhaga, all these things we become revived.

The world is ready to destruct us in one sense, but coming to here bhagavatam is protecting us from the dangers of this material world. Bhaktivedanta swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai! When Srila Prabhupada went to the west to preach the process of devotional service, he turned the killers of the cow into protectors of the cow. Hari Hari. He also turned the demons who are not only in America but they are all over the world, he turned those animal like demons into proper human beings.

He asked them to chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra in kirtan and in Japa, he fed them prashadam and this is the very thing we are going to do for the next few days. I forgot to mention one thing. There in Haridwar when kirtan and dancing going were going on and the lord was present there, do you know what happened? Again I am asking you all questions (laughter). All the devotees and practitioners you could say, why not? They all appealed to the lord, ‘oh lord, in the future whenever your katha takes place, will you come to Hadapsar, bhosle medain ground or something when there is katha taking place there also?’

The lord said ‘yes so be it. That is what shall happen.’ So here there will be closeness to the lord, sanidhya- what a word sanidhya, closeness. And then after this it became a sort of ritual for the lord to be present when katha was happening. Yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah.

naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad bhaktah

Translation
I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities.”

Whenever the devotees get together and sing of the lord’s glories, whenever they sing and dance, tatra tisthami, ‘I go there and that becomes my address. It could be that you may not find me in Vaikuntha or in the hearts of the Yogi’s who are mediating in me for thousands of years. I will not give such yogi’s my darshan and I also wont be found in Vaikuntha but wherever my devotees are speaking my glories, I will be found.

Hare Krishna, Haribol. Thank you, Radha Sharad Bihari ki jai. So the lord has said in the gita just now just before the Ekadasi that went, the Ekadasi before that on Mokshada Ekadasi in the month of December. There it was said by Dhritarashtra

dharma ksetre kuru ksetre
samaveta yuyutsavah
mamakah pandavas caiva
kim akurvata sanjaya
(Bhagavad Gita 1.1)

Translation
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after gathering on the holy field of Kurukshetra, and desiring to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?

Krishna said so many things whilst speaking the Gita but one of those was

mach chitta mad gata prana
bodhayantah parasparam kathayantash cha mam nityam
tushyanti cha ramanti cha
(Bhagavad Gita 10.9)

Translation
With their minds fixed on Me and their lives surrendered to Me, My devotees remain ever content in Me. They derive great satisfaction and bliss in enlightening one another about Me and in conversing about My glories

Giving a introduction of their devotees, the lord says, ‘what do my devotees do? Mach chitta, their minds are always on me and what else? Mad gata prana, their lives are for me, fully surrendered to me. And bodhayantah parasparam, they enlighten each other with talks about me. Kathayantash cha mam nityam – they are always having katha and then? Tushyanti, they are satisfied by doing this and raman they delight in such things.’

These are the expectations of the supreme lord of us devotees, and you are souls, this is an obvious fact that does not need to be asked. The soul is the devotee of the supreme lord and you are all souls, yes or no? Some people did not understand my question, or otherwise they are thinking ‘oh oh, who am I?’ We are all spirit souls and the soul is an eternal servant of the supreme lord. Some people are beginning to understand this, but most people here have forgotten this.

Maya makes them forget and confuses one, but basically we are spirit souls meaning the eternal servant of the supreme lord.

mamaivansho jiva loke jiva bhutah sanatanah manah shashthanindriyani prakriti sthani karshati
(Bhagavad Gita 15.7)

Translation
The embodied souls in this material world are My eternal fragmental parts. But bound by material nature, they are struggling with the six senses including the mind

I am a devotee and you all are also devotees so what are we going to do? Bodhayantah parasparam, we are going to enlighten one another with talks of Krishna, we will remember the lord Hari Hari. I was thinking, what is the job of the spirit soul? It is not material activities and gross entertainment. This is not an entertainment program, it is an enlightenment program. It is for the soul, not for the material mind.

om sarve bhavantu sukhinah
sarve santu niramayah
sarve bhadrani pasyantu
ma kascid duhkha bhagbhavet
om santih santih santih
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

Translation
Let all be happy, let all be free from debilitation, let all see goodness, let there be no victims of sorrow

This is a vedic prayer which is of high thinking, that let everyone be happy. How should everyone be? Happy. This is a prayer also and it is a good gesture as well. From this point also we see that this festival and mahotsava has been arranged so that everybody may be happy. To give the soul happiness and to be able to play, for the soul’s satisfaction and for the peace of the soul this has been organised. Who here wants peace? Okay then you are in the right place at the right time.

For peace for yourselves and for the whole world, for the soul this festival has been started and anyway only the supreme lord and his devotion service can give us this satisfaction. Then we will be able to attain the lord. Have you thought about the fact that one should try to attain the lord? Hari Hari.

Yachi dehi yachi dola, this is what we say in Marathi and it means that yachi deha, in this very body we must attain the lord. With divine eyes we should desire to take darshan of the lord and at the end our goal is to go back home back to godhead! We have to go to the place where Tukaram Maharaja has gone, back to our village. Where are you from? Pune-kar or Sangli-kar, Kasigau-kar, in Maharashtra there is a lot of this kar kar.

I once asked a manwhat his name was and he replied ‘karmarkar.’ Did you hear? Maybe you are thinking that this is a hreat name. Kar means? Then Mar then kar, Karmarkar. Then I told him that you are not the only Karmarkar, we are all Karmarkar. So the lord is very merciful, he is karuna sindhu, an ocean of mercy. This is a good thing, that he is so merciful but what is he along side this mercy? He is dina bandhu, whatbis he? Dina bandhu, we are deen, poor and our bandhu, friend is the supreme lord.

That is why he is so merciful towards us and by his merciful nature he does so much for us and one of those things he does is

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
(Bhagavad Gita 4.8)

Translation
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

The lord again and again and again does what? He comes into this material world. Try to understand and listen, if the lord had never come to this world or this universe and if he stayed in his spiritual abode always, then how would we know if there is a god or not? We wouldn’t even know this word ‘god.’ ‘Is there a god or not? If there is a god then what does he look like and what does he do and what pastimes does he perform and where does he perform them?

Is it at Vrindavan or Pandharpur or here or there?’ We would have no answers to these questions if the supreme lord kept busy in his own pastimes in the spiritual world. We would be here in this material world forever, in this place which is also a prison house. You will all not like to hear this, but in one sense we are all prisoners and when a prisoner is sent to prison, what is the first thing they do? They give him the prison uniform and they give him a number also, like 420 or whatever.

In this universe we are all fallen souls and we are shackled in this prison house. We have been told to wear the prison uniform and how many types of uniform are there? Eight million four hundred thousand and these are called the different material bodies. These are the uniforms and this human form of life is also one of those prison uniforms but it is a very difficult one to attain.

So if the lord had not come here, how would we have any information about him? And take it that even if he came, just like lord Krishna came and stayed on the planer earth for one hundred and twenty five years and then he went back to his own abode. But if there was nothing mentioned about his coming, if there was no talk about him, if there were no books written about his pastimes, no sastra like bhagavad gita, vedanta sutra, puranas, mahabharata, and so many other puranas and then bhagavatam, all glories to srimad bhagavatam!

If these sastras had not been written, if they were not here then also we would have no clue about the lord coming here and the pastimes he performed. We would have no information about his coming or his leaving. There would be no temples and there would be no information where the lord had his pastimes, nobody would know about Vrindavan or Pandharpura or bhagavad gita.

sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah
(bhagavad gita 18.66)

Translation
Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear

We would not have known what the lord says here about just surrendering unto him and we wouldnt know that the lord says

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayachchhati tadaham bhaktyupahritam ashnami prayatatmanah
(bhagavad gita 9.26)

Translation
If one offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water, I delightfully partake of that item offered with love by My devotee in pure consciousness

The lord has said what to offer his but if we didn’t read this and know this then we would eat mutton-am chicken-am, this would be going on perpetually. That is why it is a good thing that the lord came here, he is most welcome. Su swagatam Krishna Su swagatam Krishna, welcome Sri Krishna.

maya mugdha jivera nahi svatah krsna jnana
jivere krpaya kaila krsna veda purana
(caitanya caritamrita madhya 20.122)

Translation
The conditioned soul cannot revive his Krsna consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord K???a compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Puranas

Again sastra says, we have become illusioned in this material world. Maya mughda, they are illusioned and in that state they have no knowledge of their own selves, maya mugdha jivera nahi svatah – they have no knowledge of themselves or Krishna. Then what did Krishna do? He took mercy on all of us, kaila krsna veda purana. The lord took mercy on all of us, and arranged the vedas and sastras, this is the lord’s greatest mercy upon us.

So not only did the Lord appear five thousand years ago, but along with him Vyasadeva also appeared. Srila Vyasadeva is the one who compiled all the veda’s and sastra’s, in this way he expanded the lord’s pastimes through many books and sastras. That is why he is called Vyas which means expander. So this is a story about a certain and Badrika ashram dham ki jai! So it was morning time and in Badrika ashram there is river Saraswati.

There you can take darshan of mother Saraswati, you cannot take darshan of Saraswati further down but there you can take darshan. Srila Vyasadeva was sitting on the banks of the river Saraswati and who else was to appear chanting and singing ’Narayana Narayana.’ Just by my saying this you must know who I an speaking about. Narada Muni appeared on the scene, the one who gives Narayana -Narada.

Narada Muni is Srila Vyasadeva’s spiritual master and actually he is the spiritual master of the whole world. Narada Muni is also the spiritual master of Valmiki and also of Prahlad Maharaja. And Dhruva Maharaja’s spiritual master is? Narada Muni, so like that on and on. Jai Narada. So he reached there as he is Srila Vyasadeva’s spiritual master and Srila Vyasadeva’s was looking very upset, angry and downtrodden.

Narada Muni had not thought that he would see Vyasadeva looking like this because he is a Muni and is atmarama, he wants to see everyone happy and peaceful. So he was thinking, ‘why is my disciple looking so upset?’ When he asked ‘why are you not happy? You have written so many books of sastra, so why are you feeling and looking like this?’ So Vyasadeva replied ‘there is no job satisfaction.’

You all say this, no? ‘whatever I did, and all those books I wrote, there are so many, but I am not satisfied. Maybe whatever I wrote has some mistake or some shortcomings.’ Because he understood that he was feeling like this due to his not having done something, maybe he had missed something. Then he said to Narada Muni, ‘here these are all the books I have written. Please check yourself and check these writings, review my books, the sastra’s and you please tell me what shortcomings are there.’

Just as Narada Muni looked inside the books, he immediately replied, ‘Oh yes yes! I understand.’

yatha dharmadayas cartha
muni varyanukirtitah
na tatha vasudevasya
mahima hy anuvarnitah
(srimad bhagavatam 1.5.9)

Translation
Although, great sage, you have very broadly described the four principles beginning with religious performances, you have not described the glories of the Supreme Personality, Vasudev

Gradually we understand the greatness of bhagavatam which is the best of all scriptures. Mattah paratara?m nanyat kinchid asti

mattah paratara?m nanyat kinchid asti dhananjaya mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani gana iva
(Bhagavad gita 7.7)

Translation
There is nothing higher than Myself, O Arjun. Everything rests in Me, as beads strung on a thread

The lord says that there is not even another incarnation that it like him so in the same way, there is no sastra that compares to bhagavatam. Narada Muni therefore said ‘vasudevasya mahima hy anuvarnitah. You have spoken much about religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation which are the four goals of human life. We say karma kanda jnana kanda kevala visera bhanda. For a Vaisnava, the karma kanda and jnana kanda sections of the Vedas are unnecessary. Indeed, a real Vaisnava takes these sections as a poison pot – visera bhanda

You have written so much about liberation and material enjoyment but where have have mentioned nothing about the glories of Vasudeva or Krishna or Rama amongst all these? Where are the pastimes and the descriptions of the lord’s qualities? Srila Vyasadeva understood and finally he wrote another scripture which was srimad bhagavatam jai! What is in the bhagavatam? Harih sarvatra giyate.

vede ramayane caiva purane bharate tatha
adav ante ca madhye ca harih sarvatra giyate
(Caitanya cmCaritamrita 1.7.131)

In the Vedic literature, including the Ramayana, Puranas and Mahabharata, from the very beginning (?dau) to the end (ante ca), as well as within the middle (madhye ca), only Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is explained

So harih sarvatra giyate. Hari Hari, Gaura Hari or Vasudeva Hari. The lord says in the Bhagavad gita

bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su durlabhah
(Bhagavad gita 7.19)

Translation
After many births of spiritual practice, one who is endowed with knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be all that is. Such a great soul is indeed very rare

We see in this how Vasudeva is everything. Vasudeva Vasudeva Vasudeva Hari! In Pandharpura there is constant chanting like this.

krsnaya vasudevaya
devaki nandanaya ca
nanda gopa kumaraya
govindaya namo namah
(srimad bhagavatam 1.8.21)

Translation
Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vrndavana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses

That book is full of Vasudeva and that is why it is said in bhagavatam

nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam
suka mukhad amrta drava samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah
(srimad bhagavatam 1.1.3)

Translation
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.

The glories of the bhagavatam are written in the bhagavatam itself in the srimad bhagavatam mangalacharan at the very beginning. It is in the first canto of the first chapter slokas one, two and three. Nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam, all the sastras including the vedas, puranas vedanta sutra, Mahabharata and the seventeen puranas, what are these? You may take it that these are all a big tree which has been made up of all these books.

What do we wait to get from a tree? There are leaves on the tree and branches, very nice. We also very much welcome the flowers of the tree but what else is left as yet? The fruit of the tree, so in the same way all the other books are their pages parts and it could be there are fruits of these books also but the srimad bhagavatam is galitam phalam. It is not only a fruit or an unripened fruit, it is galitam- it is so ripe it may fall from the tree at any moment very soon.

Then what is written further? Suka mukhad amrta drava samyutam. Sukadeva Goswami ki jai! Sukadeva Goswami has tasted this fruit of bhagavatam and he has therefore made it maha prashad. By doing so, it has become ever sweeter. You may all know but in the village when the mango season arrives, there are many mango trees around my house. So in the mango season we would climb these trees and we would go from one tree to another and we would look at each mango.

We would not pick every mango but we would look for which type of mango? We would look for that mango which a parrot or some other bird may have pecked and eaten a little bit. When you look at these specific fruits, you can see that from the inside they are very juicy and red. They are not unripe and so we would pick these mangoes and we would sit right there and eat them. Have any of you done like this or experienced this? Anyone here from the village give your introduction.

‘He is a villager a villager!’ All glories to the youths! All glories to the farmers, actually a devotee can be a youth or he can be a farmer also. So the goal is to become a devotee and to do that one may take any path of occupational. One must drink the rasa, the juice of the srimad bhagavatam. At one time in the golden age, I think Brahma was involved and he was weighing all the books of scripture on a scale. There he saw that the scale in which srimad bhagavatam had been put was the heaviest.

He saw so many other so called heavier books were hanging on high, not heavy at all although they were so many pages more, so much heavier. There were the vedas and puranas and this and that. King of all books srimad bhagavad ki jai! Sukadeva Goswami was just about to begin his narration of srimad Bhagavatam when the gods headed by Indra arrived. Chandra the moon god arrived also along with many other demigods and they bought along with then the nectar called Kumbha from the Kumbha Mela.

They spoke to Sukadeva Goswami and said ‘oh Maharaja we have bought this nectar. Will you give this nectar to King Parikshit so that he will be able to live forever. And in exchange of this you may read srimad bhagavatam to us or let us drink the nectar of bhagavatam. When Sukadeva Goswami heard their appeal he shouted ‘get out! You are committing a great offence. How can you compare this nectar which can give one immortality or strength to srimad bhagavatam?

This bhagavatam is the means to attain Krishna and his eternal abode so how can you compare this nectar of Kumbha Mela to the nectar if srimad bhagavatam? You are making the greatest offence!’ So the demigods also were not fortunate enough to taste the nectar of srimad bhagavatam. In this srimad bhagavatam it is said dharmah projjhita kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam and so on.

dharmah projjhita kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa trayonmulanam
srimad bhagavate maha muni krte ki? va parair isvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ’tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat ksanat
(srimad bhagavatam 1.1.2)

Translation
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Pur??a propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vy?sadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bh?gavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.

So here it is said dharmah projjhita kaitavo, religious activities are covered by fruitive intention of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. It is karma kanda, fruitive activity – karma kanda jnana kanda kevala visera bhanda. For a Vaisnava, the karma kanda and jnana kanda sections of the Vedas are unnecessary.

We sometimes think to have a fire sacrifice to reach the heavenly planets a d we follow different instructions to attain fruitive results but the bhagavatam calls this kind of religion a cheating religion. The spirit soul is being cheated although that soul is a paramahamsa, enlightened and pure with no envy. The bhagavatam is different because we have become so called great Hindu’s and we perform these great fruitive sacrifices which is why the supreme lord was compelled to say ‘surrender everything to me.’ We need to give up this Kaitav dharma

krsna bhakta niskama, ataeva ‘santa’
bhukti mukti siddhi kam? – sakali ‘asanta’
(Caitanya Caritamrita madhya 19.149)

Translation
Because a devotee of Lord Krsna is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnanis desire liberation, and yog?s desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful

Those who are performers of fruitive activities are never peaceful due to their unlimited but a devotee of Krishna is desireless and that is why is is always peaceful. Bedyam vastavam atra vastu sivada? tapa trayonmulanam
srimad bhagavate maha muni krte

dharmah projjhita kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivada? tapa trayonmulanam
srimad bhagavate maha muni krte kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ’tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat ksanat
(srimad bhagavatam 1.1.2)

Translation
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vy?sadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.

When the bhagavatam can be gotten by any person, what is the need of any other scripture? This question has been raised. Isvarah sadyo hrdy avarudhyate, just by hearing this greatest scripture srimad bhagavatam what happens? The lord of the heart who is Parameshwar Krishna, he quickly appears and begins to stay in the heart of the practitioner. Krtibhih susrusubhis tat ksanat, he appears at that very moment.

The lord stayed on this planet for one hundred and twenty five years and then he was preparing to leave this place and this became known to Uddhava. Krishna says to Uddhava ‘Udhav mohi Braj bisrat nahi, oh Uddhava I cannot forget Braja.’ Uddhava is a very important personality and he got the news that the lord is not getting ready to go back to his own abode. So Uddhava told the lord, ‘me too. I will go back with you also, take me as well.’

But the lord said ‘no no, you stay because you are still needed here to complete an important mission.’ Again Uddhava protested, ‘no no, I want to go with you.’ At the end lord Krishna said ‘okay okay, I will stay also. How? I will stay in the form of srimad bhagavatam in this world.’ Haribol!

krsna sva dhamopagate
dharma jnanadibhih saha
kalau nasta drsam esa
puranarko ‘dhunoditah
(srimad bhagavatam 1.3.43)

Translation
This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana

So the Lord, simultaneously went back to his own abode, and stayed back on the earth planet in the form of srimad bhagavatam. On the very day the lord left, that same day Kali entered, you may note this. Then what happened? Kalau nasta drsam esa, this Kali took the vision of the people and he destroyed their intelligence. They became blind due to lust, which is one of the six enemies of the living entity.

Kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), Mada (arrogance), moha (infatuation), and matsarya (jealousy). All these enemies make us blind and that is what Kali did and so to give light and to restore our vision, so we may see properly, the lord appeared in the form of the king of all scriptures, srimad bhagavatam! Kalau nasta drsam esa puranarko ‘dhunoditah. This puranarko means the sun.

Just like it is said ‘as brilliant as the sun.’ The lord is not compared to just one sun but to koti, millions of suns and they are all the supreme personality of godhead. There is one shabda brahma and the other is para brahma. The shabda brahma is srimad bhagavatam and para brahma is Sri Krishna’s own form. Just like Arjuna said param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan.

param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi devam ajam vibhum
(bhagavad gita 10.12)

Translation
Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.

Arjuna told the supreme lord on the battlefield of kuruksetra, ‘you are param brahma the supreme truth.’ The lord has unlimited forms but it is said in the bhagavatam that the main forms are two in number. One is the shabda brahma and the other para brahma. The shabda brahma is the bhagavad gita or srimad bhagavatam. By the help of the shabda brahma we can attain the darshan of the supreme lord in his actual form.

This bhagavatam shows one the supreme lord and in the vedanta sutra it is said that the source of our knowledge is the sastras, the shabda brahma. They are also called sastra caksus, what are the sastras? They are our eyes or glasses. We cannot presently see corrective because of the lust and anger which is covering our vision m, so we must open the srimad bhagavatam and start reading. Otherwise one can also listen to bhagavatam but to read is also sravanam, listening.

So we will be able to see the supreme lord himself through the eyes of sastras. ‘At the moment I cannot see so clearly but aaaahh now I can see!’ So like that to read bhagavad gita and to listen to bhagavatam is very important. That is when we will understand and find out who we actually are and who the supreme lord is, and so on. This is very important, the number one. Srila Prabhupada used to say ‘that one is important. We earned this much and we got this and we have that.’

But this is all zero but if you put the number one in the beginning of all the zeros then all those zeros have value. One zero will become ten and two zeros will become one hundred. If there aren’t more zeros then it becomes a hundred thousand, million, billion, trillion. As long as there is a number one in front and if there is no one in front then one zero, two zeros or a thousand zeros together. A big zero and that is exactly what happens to everything we earn. Hari Hari.

Mrtyuh sarva haras caham. What does the lord say? I come in the form of death which is also my form.

mrtyuh sarva haras caham
udbhavas ca bhavisyatam
kirtih srir vak ca narinam
smrtir medha dhrtih ksama
(bhagavad gita 10.34)

Translation
I am all devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience

Whatever we earn will all be lost, a big zero, but whatever zeros are used in the service of the lord

yat karosi yad asnasi
yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kurusva mad-arpanam
(bhagavad 9.27)

Translation
O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me

Lord Krishna officially left for his own abode and this happened not so long ago and upon preparing to leave, the lord told Arjuna ‘take all my queens from Dwarka to Hastinapura and look after them and see to their needs.’ Arjuna did just this but then they end up in Mathura. King Parikshit had become not only a King but the emperor of the whole world and he was known as the emperor of the whole earth planet. He was rolling the whole earth planet and his capital city was Hastinapura and the whole planet was called Bharata.

Mahabharata literally means the history of Greater India. Now it has become only India but at one time it was Bharata, Mahabharata. King Parikshit became the emperor and his capital was Hastinapura and in Mathura Vajranabha who was the great grandson of the supreme lord Krishna. So the lord’s queens are taken to Vrindavan and Vajranabha is taking care of them all. They are all his own Grandmothers and all these queens of more than sixteen thousand in number are looking for Krishna in Vrindavan.

He cannot be found anywhere and they are missing him so they are suffering in the fire of separation from Krishna. So at one tome King Parikshit went to Mathura to meet Vajranabha and he asked him, ‘how are the queens?’ Vajranabha replied that they were not very happy because they are missing Krishna. They wanted to meet Krishna, perform pastimes with the lord and have interactions with him. They also wanted to serve the lord but he was not to be found anywhere by them.

In the skanda purana the glories of srimad bhagavatam have been explained in five chapters. Firstly there is this bhagavad mahatmya, glories if bhagavatam in the padma purana and secondly it is there in the skanda purana. I am trying to speak in connection to this. So the queens had been advised to go with King Pariksit and Vajranabha and they were told, ‘do one thing, go to Kusum Sarovar and perform kirtan there.

The queens were on the banks of kusum Sarovar performing kirtan so you all do the same now. So as kirtan was going on they had already been told what would happen. Shandilya Rishi and Mother Yamuna had told them to go on the banks of the Kusum sarovara where Uddhava will now come on the scene. On the banks of kusum sarovara, the trees and leaves, the branches of the trees and the grass is Uddhava in these different forms.

He is staying there because he has a great hope that when the Gopi’s will go past this place to go and get flowers to make a garland for Krishna, ‘then may the dust from the gopi’s feet fall upon my head so I may be liberated.’ In this hope Uddhava is staying there and so when he heard the queens perform kirtan, he appeared in his own form. And wherever Uddhava appears, there is an uttsava, festival.

What happens in a Hare Krishna uttsava? It makes one more enthusiastic and makes us eager and excited. So Uddhava appeared and he is about to seak bhagavad katha to who? Who is in the audience? The sixteen thousand queens of the lord are sitting there as are King Parikshit and Vajranabha.

So in the beginning Uddhava says ‘King Parikshit please leave. You cannot stay here.’ ‘Why?’ ‘You have to maintain law and order and we are going to have a very long katha here.’ So King Parikshit asked, ‘what will become of me? I will become bereft of listening to the glories of Sri Krishna.’ Uddhava replied ‘no no, it is not so, especially for you there will be arrangement for recitation of srimad bhagavatam and Srila Sukadeva Goswami himself recite bhagavatam to you on the banks of the Ganges! It is not your turn yet, your turn will come.’

Then Uddhava started, ‘om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.’

kada drakshyami nandasya balakam nipamdlakam
palakam sarva sattvanam lasattilaka bhadlakam

Translation
When will my eyes see the wonderful form of the Supreme Bhagavan Shri
Krishna, who appeared on this earth as the son of Nanda? He is adorned with a
flower garland around his neck and the holy tilak mark on his forehead; he is the protector of virtuous people

The queens were already becoming impatient to see the lord and so Uddhava went and he was going to give them darshan of the lord. How will he give them darshan? By speaking to them Krishna katha and then with the help of shabda brahma, the form of the lord bhagavatam they got darshan if the para brahma, the supreme lord in his self same form. Just go away I don’t want you and in that way they will re establish their relationship with the lord.

That is what was going to happen and in this way this katha continued for an entire one month and everyone was engrossed in hearing talks of bhagavatam. Nobody was suddenly leaving in the middle of the katha, nor was anybody sleeping during the talk or looking at their mobile phone. Katha was continuing for one month and so what started happening was that some of the queens are now leaving because they started to see their lord Krishna.

They are joining Krishna in whatever pastimes they are in and they will begin their service to the supreme lord once
again, whatever service that may be in accordance to what their specific relationship with the lord may be. They are slowly entering those pastimes and gradually the sixteen thousand one hundred queens have left to go to the lord and enter into the lord’s pastimes.

One thousand have left, and another thousand and another thousand and then all sixteen thousand. At the end only Uddhava and Vajranabha are left there and so by the end of these seven days you all will also become ready to leave, this should be the hope and we must pray like this to attain the lord. We are actually always seeing the lord, having his darshan and today also you had the lord’s darshan. Yes or no?

Who here is feeling that it is starting to happen even slightly, how about you Mataji’s? The darshan becomes more and more clear as we listen to the katha. Ceto darpana marjanam

ceto darpana marjanam bhava maha davagni nirvapanam sreyah kairava candrika vitaranam vidya vadhu jivanam anandambudhi vardhanam prati padam purnamrtasvadanam sarvatma snapanam paramvijayate sri krsna sankirtanam
(Siksastakam 1)

Translation
Glory to the sri-krsna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious

There must be cleansing of the mirror. Just like if you have a mirror but it is very dusty then we will not be able to see our own faces. But as soon as you remove that dust we can see ourselves again so un the same way our consciousness is cleansed by our listening to Krishna katha. The dust which is laying in our heart will be cleansed and then our mind and consciousness become purified.

Krishna will then be seen and this was the exact result of the katha that Uddhava Ji was reciting. Sooner or later it can be said, we must all become purified and come to this stage. Krishna Kahnaiya lal ki jai. Another thing is that we must beware, be cautious or careful about something, we will speak about this before we end today’s class. There is one more important thing which is in the padma purana in regards to bhagavad mahatmya and that is in regards to Gokarna.

Gokarna recited katha for his brother Dhundukhari and when the katha was coming to an end, Gokarna and of course everyone else must have seen it too, an plavne came. It was a small plane in which one or just a few passengers would be able to sit. It landed there and the air hosts on that plane – bear in mind they were hosts, there were no hostesses, they were the messengers of lord Vishnu, the Vishnudutas.

Those Visnuduta’s, ‘you! Not you, just you.’ They pointed to Dhundhulari to come forward and board the plane and he came forward, boarded the plane and sat down with his seat belt fastened and phew. The plane was just about to fly off when Gokarna said to Visnuduta’s ‘hey, wait a minute! What is happening here? Thousands of people listened to the katha but you are taking only one person back to Vaikunthaloka. What was the fault of the others sitting here and what was their offence?’

At the time the Visnuduta’s replied that everyone had listened to the katha but what did the rest of the people not do? They did not take it in their mind and they did not contemplate and and they did not remember or meditate on that katha. This is what one must do after katha is over, not that ‘oh the talk is over so bye. We shall meet tomorrow to start again.’ No, there should be contemplation in between the katha and we can speak about what we have heard, which is kirtan.

You can do this upon reaching home after the katha and if for whatever reason others were not able to come to the katha then you can recite to them, again this is kirtan. Forget hi and hello and chanted Hare Krishna and you can talk on the phone or online, on zoom but you can address them and recite katha to them. You can enlighten them about Krishna which is bodhayantah parasparam and if you do not do these things and of you cannot do these things then there is a saying in Marathi that there are so many gold merchants and shops and what do they do with the gold sometimes?

In one ear it goes in and it comes out of the other ear. But it shouldn’t be this way, it must reach the heart through the ears because the soul is in the heart. We all live in the heart and that is also where the supersoul lives, right next to the living entity which is us. So the ear is a material thing, that is not where the katha should be going and staying. The goal is to reach the soul and so one must contemplate and take these things into one’s mind and one list also have faith.

How much faith do we put into listening to these transcendental topics? Shraddhavanllabhate jnanam, a faithful person achieves divine knowledge and Krishna says in bhagavad gita sanshayatma vinashyati a skeptical person without faith falls down.

ajnash chashraddadhanash cha sanshayatma vina?hyati nayam loko ’sti na paro na sukham sanshayatmana?
(bhagavad gita 4.40)

Translation
But persons who possess neither faith nor knowledge, and who are of a doubting nature, suffer a downfall. For the skeptical souls, there is no happiness either in this world or the next

Krishna says, when there is a doubt, they are doubting all the time, then what happens? Vinashyati, he falls down. The Visnuduta’s are explaining what the others did not do, ‘but he did it, this Dhundhukari did the right thing! With full faith he listened and took that in his mind and he was fully concentrating as he listened to the katha.’ Many other things been said in this connection which you should also all take with you now at the end if this katha. Let this katha become your property, your possession.

Just like the actual wealth of our country is the sastra’s, the books of the vedas and puranas and srimad bhagavatam and Bhagavad gita. This is the real wealth of our country and anyway I had said this in many different ways and gave different examples. When Srila Prabhupada was once in London, he was asked by one journalist, ‘Swamiji, why have you come to our country?’ Then Prabhupada answered, ‘well you also came to India, so the situation is equal. But no, because you came to exploit our country. Your people thought oh this is valuable and so is this. In this way you kept exploiting the Indian people and all it’s wealth.

You even stole the diamonds and especially the Kohinoor diamond which is now in some museum in London. You stole many spices and silk and this and that but at the time of doing all of this, you forgot to take the actual wealth of our country. So you have asked me why I have come here so I would like to tell you that I have come to give you a home delivery of our real wealth which you forgot to bring with you.’ Shouts of Haribol!

When asked what is such wealth could be that they themselves could not recognise, Prabhupada told them, the Bhagavd gita and srimad bhagavatam and the knowledge of the vedas and puranas. This is the actual wealth of our country. Like that there are many items that were left by the British which are the real wealth of our country. The culture of India, Bharat India and not the so called culture of modern India is not the culture of Bharat India.

A man was giving his introduction once, and he said ‘I’m not Indian, I am Bharatia. There is a lot hidden in this comment amd in being a Bharatia because being Indian means that one is not following his own culture. So Srila Prabhupada said that he had come there to make a home delivery of the actual Indian culture, of ancient India. The most valuable of this is the lord’s holy names, golokera prema dhana, hari nama sankirtana.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is the wealth and that is why Srila Prabhupada always used to say ‘chant Hare Krishna and be happy.’ To be happy one must be wealthy, but what is that wealth which will make us happy? The knowledge of the sastras is the true wealth and this will make us actually happy and we will become civilised. The modern civilisation is not civilisation. Hari Hari. Okay

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Thank you for your presence here and for giving your valuable time in the service of Krishna. In return, Krishna is going to give you so much for the time you have invested here. Hare Krishna.

Srimad Bhagavatam 7.7.39
ISKCON Vrindavan
9th Sept 2021

Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

Jaya Om Vishnu pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara shata Shri Srimad His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja Prabhupada ki jai

Prem se kaho Shri Krishna-Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadadhara, Shrivasadi Gaura bhakta Vrinda ki Jai

Mayapur dham ki jai
Ganga Mayi Jamuna Mayi ki jai
Bhakti devi Tulsi Maharani ki jai
Sama veta bhakta vrinda ki jai
Harinam Sankirtan ki jai
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai
Granth Raj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai
Nitai Gaura prem anande Hari Haribol.

All glories to the assembled devotees. Hare Krishna and welcome to all of you and thank you as well for being present here. Great devotees have said – actually once the devotees requested Lord Krishna and then he appeared at that time and there was also sankirtan. Prahlad Maharaja was there also and what was he doing? He was playing Kartalas.

Indra was also there and what was he doing? He was playing the Mridanga. Sukadeva Goswami was there singing in his own Bhava and speaking Bhagavat Katha. The lord also appeared along with his associates and there was a request at that time at the lotus feet of the lord. ‘Just as you have appeared here now, in the future whenever and wherever there is talk of you, will you please appear there as well?’

‘Tathastu, so it shall be.’ Hari Hari. Actually the Bhagavatam itself is the form of the lord and so whether the lord himself appears or the Bhagavatam is present, there is no difference because the Bhagavatam is the form of the lord. The lord went back to his own abode and that is the time when Kali Yuga appeared and at this very same time Bhagavatam also appeared.

That is also when

kalau nasta drsam esa
puranarko ‘dhunodita?
(SB 1.3.43)

Translation
Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.

So the lord appeared in the form of Bhagavatam as Suta Goswami is explaining in the Bhagavatam. Sri Uddhava is saying to the lord ‘oh my lord if you are leaving then take me with you, I also want to come!’ So the lord said ‘actually I am going to stay here.’ To this Uddhava replied ‘oh then if you are staying then I shall stay as well.’ So in what form will the lord stay?

In the form of the Bhagavatam. The lord said this and indeed he did stay and he is also amongst us here today in the form of Granth Raj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai! In that same Bhagavatam it is said

nasta prayesv abhadresu
nityan bhagavata sevaya
bhagavaty uttama sloke
bhaktir bhavati nai??hiki
(SB 1.2.18)

Translation
By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.

Srila Prabhupada also has given us Srimad Bhagavatam. Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Prabhupada had taken the Bhagavatam along with him when going to foreign land and Srila Prabhupada commented that ‘no, no. The Bhagavatam has not gone with me but in actual fact I have gone along with the Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam has take me there.’

Granth Raj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai. So books are the basis and Bhagavatam is the basis. What is the form of Bhagavat Dharma? Actually we shouldn’t say ‘what is the form?’ We should say ‘who is the form?’ ‘What’ makes it an item or a thing but actually it is a personality so we must ask ‘who is that?’ The answer is that the form of the Bhagavatam is the supreme lord himself.

The basis of our dharma is Granth Raj Srimad Bhagavatam, and this Bhagavatam is being distributed even now, did you know this? Whole sets of Bhagavatam are being distributed and this campaign is called Bhadra Purnima Abhiyana. So the coming Purnima will occur on the date of the twentieth of this month and in celebration of this occasion, Iskcon.. (cut)

So the plan to distribute Srimad Bhagavatam in a grand way has been going on for some years now and will happen this year as well during the time of Bhadra Purnima. So what is the relation between the distribution of Bhagavatam and Bhadra Purnima? Well actually it is a straight forward explanation in where Sukadeva Goswami has recited Srimad Bhagavatam, right?

Okay very good and so the confirmation of the fact that Sukadeva Goswami has recited Bhagavatam can be found in many places in the Puranas such as Padma Purana. So Kali Yuga was just thirty years old and so it was not even ripe as yet. That was when Sukadeva Goswami recited Srimad Bhagavatam to King Parikshit. So the recitation of Bhagavatam was started by Sukadeva Goswami on the Navami, ninth day of Bhadra Purnima when Sukadeva Giswami sat outside Hastinapura (New Delhi) on the banks of the Ganges.

For how many days was the recitation of Bhagavatam? So start counting from the ninth, Navami. So ninth, tenth and then Ekadasi, Dwadasi and so for seven days and what was that seventh and final day? Purnima of course, that is when the Bhagavatam recitation of Sukadeva Goswami came to an end. So in one sense this is an anniversary that we celebrate on Bhadra Purnima of the recitation of Bhagavatam originally spoken by Sukadeva Goswami.

Just like we are celebrating Srila Prabhupada’s one hundred and twenty fifth birth anniversary and so whenever this Bhadra Purnima comes every year it is celebration of the anniversary. Just like Janmasthami which we have just celebrated and so like that.

So in Bhagavatam, Sloka 12.13.13 it is said and actually this is not a common folk tale for children like once upon a time there was a king and a queen, no not like this. Well actually if there was a king, that king was Lord Rama and the queen was Sita. So what was I saying? Yes we were speaking about Bhadra Purnima and In Bhagavatam it is written in 12.13.13

dadati yo bhagavatam
sa yati paramam gatim
(SB 12.13.13)

Translation
If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.

So this is a great opportunity to distribute or at least try to distribute one set or two or ten, twenty, fifty, hundred or five hundred sets of Bhagavatam. Will you all try? Yes, no- no yes? Yes, yes? Haribol! Thank you very much.

rayah kalatram pasavah sutadayo
grha mahi kunjara kosa bhutayah
sarve ‘rtha kamah ksana bhangurayusah
kurvanti martyasya kiyat priyam calah

(SB 7.7.39)

One’s riches, beautiful wife and female friends, one’s sons and daughters, one’s residence, one’s domestic animals like cows, elephants and horses, one’s treasury, economic development and sense gratification — indeed, even the lifetime in which one can enjoy all these material opulences — are certainly temporary and flickering. Since the opportunity of human life is temporary, what benefit can these material opulences give to a sensible man who has understood himself to be eternal?

What happiness can these material possessions give one? It could happen to us that when we actually understand this then we will start to turn away from material life, we make a U-turn. When we actually see what this material world is like, when we see it’s reality then

janma m?tyu jara vyadhi
duhkha dosanudarsanam
(BG 13.9)

Translation
Perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease

So one great personality was once insisting ‘show me, show me, I want to take darshan of Bharat, India.’ So his father did not want to take him out but he was so obstinate and wouldn’t listen. What was the name of this person? Siddharth. So his father finally said ‘okay go’ and so he put him on a chariot and there was a charioteer of course as well.

So he saw one scene where people were chanting ’Ram nama satya hai- the name of lord Ram is the only truth.’ So Siddharth had never before heard of nor had he seen
such a sight. He asked his charioteer ‘what is this, what has happened?’ The charioteer answered ‘this man is dead, he died. They are taking him to the place he now belongs.’

‘What they will do there?’ Siddharth asked and the answer he got was that the body will be burned to ashes. So Siddharth asked ‘will he not come back from there?’ To this the charioteer replied ‘no, he is gone – finished!’ Then Siddharth asked the driver if everyone dies and the chariot driver answered ‘yes, every person has to die.’

In a fearful manner Siddharth asked slowly ‘will I also die?’ ‘Oh yes, everyone must die- no problem you can die as easily as everyone else’ the driver said. So they continued on their way forward and an old man was trying to cross the road and Siddharth was watching as the old man was sometimes falling and he would stand up again with great difficulty. So again he questioned his charioteer, ‘what is this?’

‘This is old age whereupon one becomes old and nears his death’ the charioteer answered. ‘Oh do all people become old?’ Siddharth asked. ‘Oh yes, yes. Everyone becomes old and you and I will also become old one day, no problem.’ Then as they continued they saw a very sick person who had leprosy. So he was in a very bad and sorry state and of course he is not the only one as this is a common thing in the material world.

People are reaching the ICU nowadays. ‘If we die then how will we die? We will die in style! We will be admitted into a five star hospital. We usually go to five star hotels and restaurants and therefore we will also in the same way not go to a government hospital. If we die then we will die in style by going in the ICU.’ Just like when someone asks a dying man ‘how are you sir?’ He will answer ‘I am fine, I am fine.’

He is in the hospital bed and is going to die in a few days and he is saying that he is fine. He doesn’t even know what it is to be ‘fine’ and so actually he has been fined. Once all the family members of a dying man arrived and they were desperate, telling him ‘father, oh father. You only have one or two breaths left in you.’ The family were devotees of Bhola, lord Shiva. So the sons requested their father ‘father, chant the name of Bhola.’

What did the father say? ‘Coca cola.’ Sarvabhauma Prabhu often tells us this story. Coca cola. He was requested to chant the name of Bhola but no, coca cola. So all his life he was addicted to coca cola and so where did he go upon his death? Coca cola loka. Is that in America? So lord Buddha then saw a sick person – oh look flies are coming, we haven’t died yet but flies are already here.

Lord Buddha asked ‘Does everyone become sick?’ His driver answered ‘oh yes, everyone becomes sick.’ ‘Well will I become sick?’ Lord Buddha asked and the driver replied ‘oh yes no problem. For sure you will.’ So after witnessing these two or three situations lord Buddha said ‘I have now seen enough of this world and I have no desire to see anything more, enough is enough. Please take this chariot back to the palace.’

Then on that very night (cut). So all these problems which are there he was thinking, there must be some solution but what is that solution? What is the way out? He wanted to find the answers to his questions. So then he left for Gaya where he became Buddha which means enlightened.

So in the same way we must also make this decision that ‘enough of this world.’ When will we go back home and reach our goal, our destination? It could be that you can make this process even faster, increasing your speed whilst on the way towards your goal. We are in the process, on the right track but we are moving very, very slowly.

We are on the right path in going back home back to godhead but we are doing this so slowly, walking slowly with a carefree attitude. We move whilst asleep, awake or getting up or whilst looking back over our shoulders and in doing so we are thinking ‘are we doing the right thing or not?’ But if we are actually serious then we will speed up. Srila Prabhupada would say ‘do it in this lifetime, in this lifetime finish this all up and go back home, back to godhead.’

So nine o clock, nine fifteen what time do we- oh okay nine o clock. The senior devotees are all sitting just here so we must be careful. So have you all risen above all these thoughts yet or not? Actually these are just the ABC’s because spiritual life actually starts at the point of asking these questions. In this Sloka it is said

kurvanti martyasya kiyat priyam calah
(SB 7.7.39)

Translation
Since the opportunity of human life is temporary, what benefit can these material opulences give to a sensible man who has understood himself to be eternal?

So one will naturally be pleased and proud of ruling a great kingdom but this kingdom is temporary. After a hundred or two hundred years everything will be gone. An intelligent person should come to the conclusion that material opulences can never give one happiness. Who knows the truth of what we have just read? How many people know the truth of this?

manushyanam sahasreshu
ka?hchid yatati siddhaye
(BG 7.3)

Translation
Amongst thousands of persons, hardly one strives for perfection; and amongst those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows me in truth.

One in a thousand or in a million people could maybe understand the truth of what we have just read. This conclusion should be made but those who reach this conclusion are very rare. The conclusion should be made that materialistic people are only after one thing which is economic development. This is why Prahlad Maharaja is teaching, right? He has said that the blind are leading the blind.

Andha yathandhair upaniyamanah
(SB 7.5.31)

Translation
The blind are leading the blind

All the so-called leaders of the world are blind and the citizens are also blind and they are being guided and are following these blind men who are leading them. Have you ever seen a sheep when it is walking? You will never see the head because where is it? Always facing downward towards the ground and so if the first sheep in the front falls into a ditch then the rest will also follow and slowly fall right in as well.

So the leaders are blind and if the citizens blindly follow behind then what will be the outcome? That is why you must be careful!

Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah.
(CC Madhya lila 17.186)

The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person

Panthah means path and therefore we should always walk on the path which has been shown to us by great souls. The teachings that are going on here now are of those of a Mahajana and who is that? Prahlad Maharaja, who we cam also call a Maha Bhagavata, a great devotee.

prahl?do janako bh??mo
balir vaiy?sakir vayam
(SB 6.3.20)

Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami and I myself know the real religious principle.

He has also gained his knowledge through the teachings of another great devotee, Maha Bhagavata who is none other than Srila Narada Muni. So the first Maha Bhagavata is Narad Muni, the second is Prahlad Maharaja and third is Sukadeva Goswami. These three great devotees are leading us and guiding us and we must follow these leaders. So who is our leader? Prahlad Maharaja is our leader here. Prahlad Maharaja ki jai!

He will give us our eyes back because otherwise what has Kali-yuga done? Taken our eyes away and therefore this Bhagavatam is giving us eyes and vision to see again. Maybe I should quickly read only and not talk?

The entire world is described in Bhagavad-gita as duhkhalayam asasvatam – miserable and temporary. Economic development may be pleasing for some time, but it cannot endure. Thus many big businessmen are now very morose because they are being harassed by various plundering governments.

Is this true? Are there any persons present here from Delhi to confirm? Or anyone from Agra who can say from their own mouth that this is indeed a fact.

In conclusion, why should one waste his time for so-called economic development, which is neither permanent nor pleasing to the soul? So do you all agree with this which is being said? Do you understand this?

On the other hand, our relationship with Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternal. So what is it? Eternal. It is not flickering and temporary like our relationship with the material world. The other side is this eternal relationship just like the lord is eternal and we are also eternal.

Nitya-siddha krsna-prema. The pure souls are eternally in love with Krsna, and this permanent love, either as a servant, a friend, a parent or a conjugal lover, is not at all difficult to revive. Listen to this carefully because here there is mention of a discount. Especially in this age, the concession is that simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one revives his original relationship with God! What is this? It is a discount.

Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
(CC Madhya 6.242)

Translation
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

Thus the living entity becomes so happy that he does not desire anything material.

Na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
(Siksastaka 4)

O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language.

That’s all that Srila Prabhupada has quoted. Repeat after me. A very advanced devotee in Krsna consciousness does not want riches, followers or possessions. So think deeply about these words and meditate upon them.

Rayah kalatram pasavah sutadayo grha mahi kunjara-kosa-bhutayah
(SB 7.7.39)

Translation
One’s riches, beautiful wife and female friends, one’s sons and daughters, one’s residence, one’s domestic animals like cows, elephants and horses, one’s treasury, economic development and sense gratification-indeed, even the lifetime in which one can enjoy all these material opulences – are certainly temporary and flickering.

The satisfaction of possessing material opulences, although perhaps of a different standard, is available even in the lives of dogs and hogs – so this is an important point, hogs and dogs. They cannot revive their eternal relationship with Krsna. In human life, however, our eternal, dormant relationship with Krsna is possible to revive.

Therefore Prahlada Maharaja has described this life as arthadam. Here somewhere Prahlad Maharaja has used this word arthadam. There is adruvam as well which means you cannot put any faith into that. Just like we say ‘what faith can we put in this material world?’ Also though the word arthadam has been used which is meaningful.

Our lives have a reason, some meaning and there are some duties to follow and there are many reasons to why we live.

Consequently, instead of wasting our time for economic development, which cannot give us any happiness, if we simply try to revive our eternal relationship with Krsna, we will properly utilize our lives. Haribol!

So I will repeat this last bit which is the end of my talk today. Consequently, instead of wasting our time for economic development, which cannot give us any happiness, if we simply try to revive our eternal relationship with Krsna, we will properly utilize our lives.

I wish you all success, this is my desire and with this I end my talk here.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.18
Iskcon Ujjain

16th September 2021

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Welcome to all of you and thank you all of you for being present here. Nityam Bhagavata Sevaya is the process that Srila prabhupada has given us according to the bhagavatam as well. This is why we are speaking from the bhagavatam and also srila prabhupada’s memorial festival is currently being celebrated and along with this we are celebrating his holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja’s seventy sixth appearance day, vyas puja mahotsava.

So in this way the list is quite long and big and on top of that we can definitely add one more item which is the recitation of srimad bhagavatam because we are celebrating the anniversary of this occasion as well. Have you heard of the campaign of bhadra purnima? In front of the temple I read some promotional material about this.

So I also thereupon remembered that we also had a message sent here that for the first time we are celebrating the anniversary of the bhagavatam that Sukadeva Goswami has spoken all at once. Another order of Srila Prabhupada was ‘read my books’ and so throughout all of Iskcon we are celebrating in this way.

A way to celebrate this occasion is by distributing the jewel of all literatures, srimad bhagavatam. We are distributing the bhagavatam but also we should listen to it’s narration. It’s not that you should only distribute the bhagavatam but also Prabhupada has said again and again ‘distribute my books, distribute my books, distribute my books.’ We have not paid much attention to anything else he may have said because we have become impressed or have understood this one instruction ‘distribute my books.’

So he has said ‘read my books, read my books, read my books’ but he has not said this all at once and again and again because along with this he has also said ‘study my books.’ Hari Hari. So we are celebrating the anniversary of first time the hearing and chanting of Srimad bhagavatam took place through Sukadeva Goswami.

I am not sure if this is the right sloka but I have selected this one and it is the first canto, chapter seven, sloka eight. Please repeat after me.

sa samhitam bhagavatim
krtvanukramya catma jam
sukam adhyapayam asa
nivrtti niratam munih
(SB 1.7.8)

Translation
The great sage Vyasadeva, after compiling the Srimad-Bhagavatam and revising it, taught it to his own son, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was already engaged in self-realization.

After he completed the writing of srimad bhagavatam, Sri Vysadeva taught it to his own son Sukadeva Goswami who was already engaged in realisation of the self.

Srila Prabhupada ki jai! So I was speaking and some talks were happening in regards to Srila Prabhupada’s one hundred and twenty fifth birth anniversary which we are celebrating. Srila Prabhupada ki jai! So remember this, that for the whole year this occasion will be celebrated and the inauguration has been done by Modi-ji himself. You all must have heard about this or read about it.

So we have also celebrated Sri Krishna Janmasthami as well. Sri Krishna Janmasthami ki jai! This is also a birth anniversary, that of lord Sri Krishna. So Srila Prabhupada’s one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary and Sri Bhakti Charu Swami’s seventy eighth birth anniversary shows how much we are celebrating this year.

We have just celebrated the five thousand two hundred and forty eighth Sri Krishna Janmasthami. Haribol! So if you want a challenge or if you want to challenge this calculation then you can make your own attempt or otherwise you could just accept this. I will just quickly say how we got this calculation of five thousand two hundred and forty eight.

This is a fact that Lord Krishna appeared three thousand one hundred and two years before Christ, you understand BC, yes? So the year which we are in now is two thousand and twenty one. So we will add these two numbers up of two thousand and twenty one to three thousand one hundred and two. Plus one hundred and twenty five years which is how long Krishna stayed on the Earth and then ended his pastimes.

The lord also came here in Ujjain, in Avantipura and he performed his pastimes here also. Nanda ke ghar ananda bhayo jai kanaiya lal ki. So before Christ, lord Krishna departed for his own abode and so adding this to two thousand and twenty one what is the grand total? Five thousand two hundred and forty eight which is how many years ago lord Krishna was born at the house of Nanda Maharaja. Nanda ke ghar ananda bhayo jai kanaiya lal ki.

So Nanda Maharaja celebrated this and this is called Nandotsava and this happened that many years ago. So Srila Prabhupada is speaking in connection to this, about when srimad bhagavatam was spoken after five thousand years after lord left the planet. If we go into the details of this then we can see that the very day when krishna left this planet to go back to his abode

yada mukundo bhagwan shamam tyaktva svapadam gatah tad dinath kali rayantam sarva sadhak badhaka
(Brahma vaivarta purana)

TRANSLATION When Bhagwan Mukunda, Krsna Shyam left this planet and went to his planet from that day kaliyuga has come. And it is an impediment everywhere and particularly in devotional service.

There is one sloka like this in the Veda’s where it is said that when Mukunda Sri Krishna returned back to his abode, from that day forward Kali Yuga began. On on the very same day what started happening? People’s religious principles started becoming irregular and who was doing this? Kali and his influence. Kali is a person because everything is eventually a personality.

When the Pandavas found out that Krishna was no longer on the planet, Arjuna had gone to Dwarka to meet lord Krishna and he had spent so much time there. For a long time he didn’t return and he spent seven months in Dwarka after which he returned and the Pandavas heard the worst news of their life.

When Arjuna came back with this heartbreaking news, just by seeing the look of misery upon Arjuna’s face, the Pandavas understood what Arjuna was going to say. So upon hearing this news the Pandavas retired and also as soon as Queen Kunti heard this news she could not live for one moment longer. The Pandavas and Draupadi tried to keep strong and control themselves but we know this is not possible and so they immediately handed the kingdom over to King Parikshit.

He then became the emperor of the world and during his rule he witnessed Kali in his personified form cutting the cow with a sword which Kali wanted to kill but then ‘oh please excuse me. Please forgive me’ which the King then did. So I am extending this Katha I know. So the King gave Kali four places where he could stay.

Abhyarthitas tada tasmai sthananik alaye dadou
Dyutam panam striyah suna yatra adhamass chaturbidhah.
(SB 1.17.38)

Translation
Suta Goswami said, “Maharaj Parikshit, thus being prayed for by the personality of Kali, gave him permission to reside in four different places where gambling, drinking, prostitution and slaughtering of animals are performed respectively.”

So these are the places where Kali was permitted to reside where gambling and drinking, including drinking tea take place. You must be thinking okay ‘so no tea so we can have coffee’ but no, that will also not do. Then there is slaughtering of animals and also women in the form of time bombs (cut).

So chanting of

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So then chanting like this he (HH Bhakti Charu Swami) became unconscious and then came to the shelter of Srila Prabhupada. So this is the personality bhagavad and therefore the worship of bhagavatam should simultaneously be done alongside the worship of the person bhagavad. So Maharaja took shelter of both the bhagavad’s srimad bhagavatam and Srila Prabhupada and for the first time ever in history and only a few months later Srila Prabhupada got all the senior devotees to come together and held a meeting with them.

He spoke to them and then told them that this boy (Bhakti Charu Maharaja) will spread Krishna consciousness throughout the whole world. Srila Prabhupada was told by his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja where to go. ‘Go to the western world and preach in English language this bhagavad dharma!’

But to do this anybody who wants to join the movement has to abide by these four regulative principles. So Prabhupada said this for the first time when he came to the west and the students asked him what these four principles are. No intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex and no meat eating. So how many of you sitting here are ready to do this and follow these four principles?

Raise your hands. So all of you who are sitting here at the moment are not raising your hands but when Srila Prabhupada asked them they all raised their hands. ‘We are ready! We will follow these principles!’ This showed that it was now the beginning of the end of the age of Kali. So the beginning of the end means for the next ten thousand years it will be the golden period of Kali Yuga.

This has been mentioned in the Chaitanya Mangal and so this was the golden age with the American boys and girls. It was mostly boys and girls because older people would not come forward. Also this kind of thing is usually for the younger generation and so with their help Srila Prabhupada registered this movement of Iskcon.

So he went around the world – jet aged Parivrajakachrya. What sort of Parivrajakachrya? Jet aged. So the preaching was of srimad bhagavatam, the jewel of all scriptures. Prabhupada used to say that books are the basis. And the books he is speaking of is bhagavad gita and bhagavatam and also for the gaudiya vaishnava’s there is Chaitanya Charitamrita.

So we are speaking and having katha of srimad bhagavatam which Srila Prabhupada has given the whole world. So before Prabhupada did this or rather gave this to the world, we were speaking of how the bhagavatam appeared and who the original speaker was. So King Parikshit is the medium via whom this all happened and the guru is Narada Muni who is actually the guru of so many personalities who have then written so many books.

Dhruva Maharaja’s guru is Narada Muni, Prahlad Maharaja’s guru is Narada Muni. He has his disciples all over the universe and so everything must be done by asking the guru for advice, by taking his input. ‘I am dissatisfied, why? I have written so many books but I am not happy.’ Vyasadeva is thinking like this and so his guru Narada Muni did what? He did a book review.

When books are published nowadays there are book reviews and people give their comments and so Narada Muni said ‘oh now I understand why you are angry and upset. You have spoken much in the matter of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation in the Vedas, Purana’s, Mahabharata and in this book and that book. As many books as you have written till now, in none of these have you described the glories of Sri Vasudeva. Vasudevah sarvam iti, Vasudeva is all in all.

But you have spoken of so many things in so much detail, religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But where is the katha of Vasudeva or the pancham purusartha, the fifth principle which is love or bhakti. So after taking this advise Srila Vyasadeva wrote one more scripture. And finally his final book- did you get scared as I said ‘finally?’

It was too loud but it was to wake you up a bit and just for emphasis, you know? So he wrote one book and that is the king of all scriptures – srimad bhagavatam ki jai!

srimad bhagavatam puranam amalam yad vaisnavanam priyam
(SB 12.13.18)

Translation
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana. It is most dear to the Vaisnavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas.

According to the opinion of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself and according to the bhagavatam, srimad bhagavatam is amala purana, it is perfectly pure. ‘A’ means negative, not existing and mala means dirt, so it is dirt-less. Actually any bonafide scripture purifies our consciousness and our thoughts.

So Sukadeva Goswami stayed in the womb of his mother for sixteen years thinking that if he were to come out then the falsity and contamination of this material world would influence him. ‘This is why it is better for me to stay here where I am.’ So he stayed in his mother’s womb and for how long did he stay? How many years? It wasn’t for ten months or one year, two years, ten years or twelve years. No he stayed for sixteen years!

You can just imagine how difficult that must’ve been for the child, how much inconvenience he bore. Then Vyasadeva called Krishna so that the child could be born and so his wife could gain some relief. So upon arrival, Sri Krishna promised Sukadeva Goswami, ‘first just come out at least. Then you will be safe and I will protect you.’

So he then took birth but as soon as he did, there was no performance of any ceremony or samskara because he immediately started running towards the forest and his father ran after him.

putreti tan mayataya taravo ’bhinedus
(SB 1.2.2)

Translation
His father, Vy?sadeva, fearing separation from him, cried out, “O my son!” Indeed, only the trees, which were absorbed in the same feelings of separation, echoed in response to the begrieved father.

Srila Vyasadeva ran after his son and only this much has been said. The acharyas have written commentaries upon this and they say that Vyasadeva shouted ‘putra!’ (Son) but Sukadeva Goswami didn’t hear anything. Do you hear the crowing of the cock? There are three different ways in which the cock crows just to wake you up.

So the cock will crow slowly but you wont wake up so he will crow a little higher this time but still you don’t wake up. This is what sukadeva goswami was like and so in the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam this bhakti process has been taught by him. Sukadeva Goswami was also very learned and also renounced and so he went to the forest immediately after birth. Sukadeva Goswami wanted to speak the bhagavatam so that upon listening or reading it what would we then do?

We would distribute knowledge of the bhagavatam. The search continued and Vyasadeva would send his students to go and search for Sukadeva Goswami. Upon finding him, because Sukadeva Goswami was further inquisitive about self realisation, his father Vyasadeva taught him more through srimad bhagavatam.

sa samhitam bhagavatim
krtvanukramya catma jam
sukam adhyapayam asa
nivrtti niratam munih
(SB 1.7.8)

The great sage Vyasadeva, after compiling the Srimad-Bhagavatam and revising it, taught it to his own son, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was already engaged in self-realization.

This is is written in the sloka of today about how firstly Srila Vyasadeva compiled the bhagavatam and then sukam adhyapayam asa- he taught it to his son Sukadeva Goswami. So after Srila Vyasadeva had read the bhagavatam which meant there was sravana and kirtan (hearing and chanting) of the lord, he had become realised in the process of devotional service and realised the lord.

What then happened? Kali Yuga became thirty years old and that is when King Parikshit is cursed with only seven days to live whereupon a snakebird will come. So King Parikshit became ready and wearing only one loincloth he went to the banks of the river Ganges and sat down. The whole world received the news of this and only the lord knows how it spread so quickly and so far. So the brahmanas assembled and asked him what he wanted and he said ‘whatever may happen

Ante narayana smriti
(SB 2.1.6)

Translation
Somehow or other one should remember Krishna at the time of death.

This is when Sukadeva Goswami arrived on the scene and he hadn’t even worn any clothes, had he or not? No because Sukadeva Goswami was thinking-have you not read the gita? What has the lord called the body?

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
(Bg 2.22)

Translation
A person puts on new garments, giving up old ones

‘Why are you thinking that I have not worn any clothes? I have previously also worn so many clothes!’ I’m already wearing one set’ (the body). Upon seeing him all the great sages and King Parikshit stood up to receive him with respect. So Sukadeva Goswami’s katha starts in the first canto, nineteenth chapter. We will now have to end this katha but the time we are going back to is the age of Kali being thirty years old.

This information is in the padma purana where it is clearly written that when Kali Yuga was thirty years old Sukadeva Goswami started his narration of bhagavad katha on which date? Navami, the ninth day was when the Katha began and from there how many days did the Katha continue? When must it have ended? Anyway I am not going by the calendar as such. So in the day of purnima which is the seventh day was when the katha ended.

And which purnima was this? Bhadrapada purnima (the seventh day) and what is the date today? You have all forgotten, yes today is the tenth. So when must the katha have started? Yes, today is the third day of the katha. So in the twelfth canto chapter thirteen, sloka thirteen of bhagavatam there is mention of Bhadra Purnima where it is said that if on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places srimad bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.

sa yati paramam gatim
(SB 12.13.13)

Translation
he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.

So param gati means going back to godhead. So in either gita mahatmya or bhagavad mahatmya it is said and we also have gita marathon in the month in which the lord spoke bhagavad gita. In the same way we are having bhagavatam distribution in the same month when Sukadeva Goswami spoke bhagavatam, Haribol!

Are you all pleased about this? You did not cry out Haribol or show any signs of happiness. (Shouts of Haribol)! So this was by force, not natural. So now in the matter of distribution of bhagavatam sets, last year Iskcon, I think in mostly India they distributed twenty thousand sets of Srimad Bhagavatam.

And this year we have also started in some places and so just like Srila Prabhupada used to say ‘it’s never too late.’ I was in Pune last year and I heard that Iskcon Pune has made a target and that they are alone going to distribute five thousand sets of bhagavatam. So see to this Iskcon Ujjain, and see who is going to win this marathon as they are the real winners.

All glories to Srimad Bhagavatam.

Nanda ke ananda bhayo
Bhagavat Katha , Part 4
11 07 2017

Venue: Durban_South Africa
Vrindavan Dham ki Jai
Gokul Dham ki Jai.

So two scenes, Krsna’s appearance, He appeared in the middle of the night, 12 midnight and Vasudev brought the child back, baby daughter of Yashoda, he brought her to Mathura. So what more events took place in Mathura. The next day as well events in Gokul, so these are two episodes. The aspects of Krsna’s pastimes will be dealing with today.

devakyah sayane nyasya
vasudevo tha darikam
pratimucya pador loham
aste purvavad avrtah (SB 10.3.52)

So Vasudev was back in the prison house, he placed the daughter next to Devaki and the shackles around his wrist and ankles are placed as before. Yesterday we did watch the drama, some of that scene is here in the Bhagavatam, that will be dealing with

tato bala dhvanim srutva
grha palah samutthitah (S.B. 10.4.1)

So when, Vasudev was in imprisoned state, bound by the shackles, immediately everybody is getting up, Yoga maya’s influence was there, fast asleep, but now they are woken up and first thing they hear is “bal dhavani” child is crying.

te tu turnam upavrajya
devakya gaarbha janma tat (SB 10.4.2)

They got up and the guards they all ran “bhoja rajaya” to report to Bhoja Raja, that is Kamsa.

yad udvignah pratiksate (SB 10.4.2)

And he was awaiting, anxiously waiting to get, hear such news.

sa talpat turnam utthaya (SB 10.4.3)

And he jumped, when he heard that baby has taken birth, and we just heard the crying, Kamsa jumped says

mukti murdhajah (SB 10.4.3)

Hairs were all scattered and he ran, rushed to Vasudeva and Devaki

tam aha bhrataram devi
krpana karunam sati (SB 10.4.4)

So, Devaki made all kinds of appeal, please spare the child, please spare, she is “striyam”, she is just daughter of mine.

hantum arhasi, ma hantum arhasi (SB 10.4.4)

You already have killed so many children, please at least save this one,

sunseyam tava kalyana ( SB 10.4.4)

She may become your daughter in law, when she grows up, she is trying to establish some kind of relationship like that.

bahavo himsita bhratah
sisavah pavokopamah ( SB 10.4.5)

My brilliant children you have killed, but you spare this one.

putrikaika pradiyatam ( SB 10.4.5)

Please give this daughter as a gift to me but nothing, everything is falling on the deaf ears of Kamsa. All he thinks of yes, oh this is the eighth child and I was waiting for eight years. Devaki was giving birth to one child every year, next year, next child, he had been waiting finally the 8 th child took birth.

rudatya dina dinavat (SB 10.4.7)

She was caring, Devaki but Kamsa was powerful also, he just snatched the baby,

tam grhitva( SB 10.4.8)

And he held the feet of the baby and he is about to dash, the baby was not there,

devy ambaram gata (SB 10.4.9)

Devi, another devi appeared, the baby turned into a devi, Durga devi.

sayudhaste mahabhuja (SB 10.4.9)

She had eight arms, holding eight different symbols in those hands.

siddha carana gandharvair
apsarah kinnaroragaih upahrtoru ( SB. 10.4. 10-11)

Siddhas, Caranas and Gandharvas, they started praising Durga Devi, they started showering flowers and played music for here pleasure.

kim maya hataya manda (SB 10.4.12)

And she spoke boldly, you manda, you dull headed kamsa, kim maya hataya manda, what will you gain by killing me,

tavanta-krt (SB 10.4.12)

Your killer, yatra kava va purva satrur, ma himsih karpanan vrtha (SB 10.4.12)

He has taken birth elsewhere, don’t kill me, don’t kill other babies.

iti prabhasya tam devi
maya bhagavati bhuvi
bahu nama niketesu
bahu nama bahuva ha (SB 10.4.13)

This is yoga maya, she was already informed by the Lord that once you assist me with this appearance day, my appearance past times, then you become known in this world by different names like Durga, Bhadrakali, Vijaya, Vaishnavi, Kumunda, Chandika, Krsna, Madhavi and on and on and Sharada, Ambika, Narayani, Maya. So after this, she takes different forms and appears in
different parts of Bharat Varsha and the worship continues. Now Kamsa, he was really surprised after eight years anticipation, expecting that child, eighth child he was also expecting a boy child and a girl has taken birth and she has taken the form of Durga and scaring Kamsa and then she disappears and Kamsa was thinking oh that voice, I thought that was Godly voice, some God’s voice, people in this world do tell lies, but now demigods have started telling lies, that predication has not come true. What happened and there is full of regret.

aho bhaginy aho bhama (SB 10.4.15)

His whole mood has changed and he is approaching Vasudev and Devaki, touching their feet and begging for forgiveness and he is releasing them as they are all bound up, so you may kindly return to your homes, so Vasudev and Devaki were set free and Kamsa returns to his palace, he spents a night and next morning.

tasyam ratryam vyatitayam
kamsa ahuya mantrinah
tebhya acasta tat sarvam
yad uktam yoga nidraya (SB 10.4.29)

So he has called special meeting of all his ministers and what he experiences the day before, in fact it was during the night, after mid night he wants to share all that experience , what he had to go through with his ministers.

akarnya bhartur gaditam

tam ucur deva satravah (SB 10.4.30)

He said, yes but the demigods are our enemies, we have to wipe them out from this planet, I beg to your proposal then with to Kamsa, all children born in previous ten days, we will kill them all, you just order us.

kim udyamaih karisyanti
devah samara bhiravah
nityam udvigna manaso
jya ghosair dhanusas tava (SB 10.4.32)

And they started praising and flattering Kamsa, sir, when you have your dhanus, the bow and the arrow, the string the sound of the string as the demigods hear, they all began trembling that’s the kind of power you have, Kamsa and they say, this Vishnu is always scared of you, is always hiding in the hearts of his devotees that is Vishnu, what about

?ambhun? v? vanaukas? (SB 10.4.36)

And the Shiva is always in cremation ground smearing ashes all over his body, should need not to be worry.

Kim indrenalpa viryena (SB 10.4.36)

And Indra is, doesn’t have much power,

brahmana va tapasyata (SB 10.4.36)

And Brahma is always busy with his tapasya

Tatas tan mula khanane (SB 10. 4.37)

We should uproot all of those from this planet and the mula (source) of all the demigods or strength is Vishnu

Mulam hi visnur devanam

Yatra dharmah sanatanah (SB 10.4.39)

And where there sanatana dharma is being practised, it is where the Vishnu resides.

tasya ca brahma go vipras

tapo yajnah sa daksinah (SB 10.4.39)

And sanatana dharma, the brahamins, the cows yajna, so we should all stop this. We should attack sanatana dharma.

tasmat sarvatmana rajan
brahmanan brahma vadinah
tapasvino yajna silan
gas ca hanmo havir dughah (SB 10.4.40)

So now the proposal is all in favour is, please raise your hands, there is a big assembly, all the big parliament is there. So we want to kill they are making a list, the cows are on the list, tapasvasi’s whose who perform austerities they are on the list, specially the Brahmins and cows should be killed.

namo brahmanya devaya
go brahmana hitaya ca
jagad dhitaya krsnaye
govindaya namo namah

The cows are very dear to Krsna, the brahmana’s are very dear to Krsna, so we should kill Brahmana’s , we should kill all the cows because from cows come all the ghee and other items required for yajna, for worshiping the deity, so they made this Brahman and cows are target. So even 5000 years ago this thing and this of course even to this day goes on attacking the sanatan dharma or the brahmana’s and the cows, even in India the cows are killed, some years ago,

Radha Radhanath ki Jai.

And the parliament does the question, the cows, the cows killing, the slaughter house in India were being discussed, the concern was, the cows when they are slaughtered in Indian slaughter houses because the blades used for killing, they are not sharp enough, as a result it takes little extra time to kill. So what to do, of course they could have easily resolved, no more cow killing still it was proposed that we should modernise our slaughter houses. We should sharpen the blades,
the cows could be killed faster, less suffering, when they are killed like that, the kind members of the parliament out of kindness of the animal slaughter house out of kindness for the cows they were proposing. We should modernise the slaughter houses. So that sharpens blades could kill cows like that. Okay there is all in favour and majority in favour of modernising the slaughter houses in India,

The cows is so dear to Krsna.

Gopal Krsna Bhagwan ki Jai.

Krsna cares for cows so much luta luta dadhi makhana khayo, as we go through these chapters, we come across Lord Krsna’s butter stealing pastimes. Krsna likes to steal butter which comes from cow gvala bala sanga dhenu carayo, all the Krsna’s cow herding cows.

He doesn’t even wear shoes while herding the cows in Vrindavan, his feet are worshiped by Brahma, Shiva and Lakshmi but with those lotus feet of the Lord, he is using in the service of the cows all day’s using his those pinkish lotus feet, soft lotus feet, tender lotus feet walking all over the Braj serving the cows, so much practical affection Krsna has for his cows and for the Brahman’s. Brahmins are worshipped by the Lord. In Dwarka Sudama was worshipped, Narada Muni comes, another Brahmin, Krsna worships brahmana, Krsna worship cows and this is by protecting Dharma, one protects himself or herself or protects the country by Dharmo rakshati rakshitah , this was Krsna’s.

Then Yashoda had proposed Krsna please take shoes, please wear shoes in the forest they will help you but Krsna say, No, No, I will not wear the shoes, cows don’t have shoes, cows don’t wear shoes. No, No please you wear, as mother Yashoda was insisting, Krsna says, okay, if you get the shoes for all the cows, then how many cows Krsna is looking after, nine hundred thousand cows, so how many shoes are required , so many shoes were so many shoes which part, which company who provide so
many shoes. So Yashoda gave up this proposal, but at least take umbrella and hold, but the cows don’t have. No, No, but you please take. Okay if you get the umbrella’s for the cows, nine hundred thousand umbrella’s, but cows have only feet and no hands. Now nine hundred thousand persons are required to hold nine hundred thousand umbrella’s over nine hundred thousand cows. So Krsna flatly refused no, no shoes for me, no umbrella for me.

That time Krsna says Dharmo rakshati rakshitah , my dear mother, Dharmo rakshati rakshitah , if we protect religion, dharma then that dharma will protect us. So let us just protect our religion and to take care of the cows, serve the cows, serve the Brahmin’s this is our dharma. So the Kamsa and the company here, he was, there proposal is to kill Brahmin’s and cows and the babies. All the babies born in last ten days that of course, they were talking of killing the born babies, newly born, these days babies are not even allowed to take birth while they are still helpless with in the womb, kill them. So mothers is killing the babies and the society is killing the mother in the form of cows.

Gomata ki jai…..

So this is the kind of the program, is Kamsa they are now going on campaign. On this campaign will last for ten more years, because Kamsa has just heard that you killer have taken birth elsewhere. It is going to be, all his associates to crush dharma, principles of dharma, persons following the practices those principles, killing babies and the goal was of course eighth child. Where is that eighth child, who has taken birth elsewhere? So they were looking and looking and it took, they
could never find after ten, eleven years again Narada Muni, Narayana, Narayana. As he comes, you know that Krsna and Balaram, in the house of Nanda Maharaja, that is seventh and eighth children of Devaki and then Kamsa makes plan to bring Krsna over to Mathura and with a wrestling match was excuse and he was going to attempt to kill Krsna. In fact this is big ignorance, anyone who thinks he could kill God, he has no clue of what God is, Just thinking, it is demonic idea/ thought of killing God. God cannot be killed, even soul cannot be killed.

nainam chindanti sastrani
nainam dahati pavakah (BG 2.23)

Bhagavad Gita, No weapon could kill the soul, the soul cannot be killed, the super soul and is but Lord is certainly, couldn’t be possible to kill. So finally as we go through chapters thirty, forty chapters of Krsna’s past time and then past time of Krsna, killing Kamsa.

Haribol.
You like that idea, some of you didn’t do haribol, we are wondering which party you belong. So when demon is killed devotee rejoice. So that’s god program.

paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge (BG 4.8)

So Lord had appeared to protect his devotees “vinasaya ca duskrtam” to annihilate the demons, miscreants , by doing so he establish “dharma samsthapanarthaya” he establishes principles of dharama, so that’s the kind of, this one final statement of that chapter 3 says.

hanta sreyamsi sarvani
pumso mahad atikramah (SB 10.4.46)

When the, the brahman’s, the Vaishnava’s, sadhu’s, general when they are offended what to speak of killing them, this will kill or diminish the killars of the bramanical culture, offenders of Vaishnava’s and Vaishnav Culture that person’s life will be minimised.

ayuh sriyam yaso dharmam
lokan asisa eva ca (SB 10.4.46)

Their beauty will, they will lose beauty, fame, lost, elevation to the higher planet forget it . If one is offender of Vaishnava’s, vaishnav culture, Krishna conscious culture and with that we want to remember the very special event of Nandoutsav, or Nanda Utsav. Nand Maharaj had a big celebration in Gokul Dham.

Gokul Dham ki Jai…..
yashoda nanda patni ca
jatam param abudhyata
na tad lingam parisranta

nidrayapagata smrtih (SB 10.3.53)

So Yashoda, it is from previous chapter alos, end of chapter 3, Yashoda because she was tired, as the child labour, she was and also influence of Yoga maya, she could not she didn’t take not, whether she gave birth to a daughter or a boy “na tad lingam” she didn’t know, have I gave birth to a boy or a girl, she didn’t, so she had given birth to the daughter we heard yesterday and that daughter was taken to Mathura and child born in Mathura was now in Gokul, in front of Yashoda. One devotee
yesterday asked me question, question was did Yashoda give birth to just one child or two children.

I deeper study into this subject matter, it is confidential, we don’t tell anybody and for sure you won’t tell. This is goswami’s of Vrindavan, literature, the talk of Yashoda giving birth to two children. A daughter which she gave birth to, she described in the shastra’s as Krsna’s Anuja, anu means afterwards, ja means taking birth, Krsna anjua means Krsna took birth first and then anuja then this yoga maya is appearing as daughter. The theory of two children, Yashoda two children. So the
Krsna, Devki Nandan coming from Mathura side and Yashoda Nandan, Yashoda give birth to, this two becomes one. Devaki Nandan enters Yashoda Nandan and then one and the daughter was taken away to Mathura.

nandas tv atmaja utpanne
jatahlado maha manah
ahuya vipran veda jnan
snatah sucir alankrtah (SB 10.5.1)

So, there in Gokul, “nandas tv atmaja utpanne” the good news of Krsna’s appearance and Nand Maharaj ji is very, very ecstatic , very happy “alahad” he is full of joy.

Haribol.
“Maha-Manah” Nanda Maharaja described as “maha-manah”; great soul, broad minded Nand Maharaj Nanda “ahuya vipran” they are having a different programme planning here, where they were planning to kill Vipran’s, Brahmin’s and here as child has taken birth in the family, he is gathering all Brahmin’s. Yes, all brahmin’s please come. Invitation for all the brahmin’s vedagya’s those who know the Vedas. There was a special word around “snatah” Nanda Maharaja takes his bath, chanting all the mantras.

Gange yamune cha-ev Godavari sarasvati sannidhim kurum

Requesting, inviting all the rivers, please come, kindly allow me to take bath, “sucir alankrtah” and he is putting on special clothes and some ornaments also, child has taken birth and this nanda baba, he is baba by this time, Baba you know who is called baba elderly, Nanda Maharaja is an elderly person, when he had his first child, soon after marriage and when child come, some joy is of course there but when you have no child and you are waiting and waiting, happening and not happening and finally the child comes. Haribol, anticipating in the arrival of child and then the child is finally here. So he is joyful and he is not just alone joyful, the word has spread all over Vrindavan, every where they all come to know.

Nanda Ghar Anand bhayo,

Vrindavan in Braj they talk like this way, Nanda ghar anand bhayo, oh what happen, where are you going, people of so many village and town are running, rushing to Gokul. So those who didn’t know what is this all about, why so many people are going in direction of Gokul, oh! you don’t know “nanda ghar anand anand bhayo” that ananda has taken birth at Nanda’s home. They are not saying indirectly that child has taken birth or the baby boy, nanda ke ghar anand bhayo or other meaning is
home of Nanda Maharaja is filled with ananda, filled with joy.

Haribol.

The joy has taken birth in Nanda Bhavan, as soon as people will find out, they would also keep running to Nanda Bhawan, nanda gram to have a grand festival.

Nanda ghar anand bhayo,
Jai kaniya lal ki……
vacayitva svastyayanam
jata karmatmajasya vai
karayam asa vidhivat
pitr devarcanam tatha (SB 10.5.2)

So the brahamana’s have come and they are chanting different auspicious mantra’s and Nand Maharaj, this is, he is giving out so many gifts to the Brahmana’s. What are the gifts, what are the rewards.

dhenunam niyute pradad
viprebhyah samalankrte ( SB 10.5.3)

By now he has given out two hundred thousand cows in charity. Yes the cows, samalankrte the golden cows, their horns, around the necks are different bells, cloth, embodied cloth on their backs and some of them their horns pointed, they have lemons and lemon in that incense and incense is lit, the cows walking and all this. Two hundred thousand cows all, and all well dressed cows, well decorated cows, all this distributed to the Brahmins.

taladrin sapta ratnaugha
satakaumbhambaravrtan (SB 10.5.3)

There are the big heaps of grains, little mountains, little hill grains, “tiladrin”, sesame seeds they are very useful grain, you get til oil and you could do “swaha, swaha”. Til has lots of, til is used, so tiladrain, mountain or hills of sesame seeds are they are covered with silk clothes and some other ornaments and they are also being distributed in charity to Brahmins.

kalena snan saucabhyam
samskarais tapasejyaya
sudhyanti danaih santustya
dravyany atmatama vidyaya (SB 10.5.4)

So, by taking bath, one purifies his own body, we don’t have just a body, we also have minds, so we should not be only cleaning the bodies, cleaning/ the cleansing of the mind is important so how to do that “sudhyabtu santustya atnatna” when the mind is santusta, the satisfied mind, oh this is enough for me, I am satisfied, mind that is satisfied and when mind is purified then mind is satisfied. So purification of body and purification of mind , “yatra chala va santusto”, I am santusta whatever he has sent, whatever is in my quota, I am having it. I am satisfied those kinds of mind, purified minds. So minds are purified the conscious is purified by “ceto darpan marjanam” chetna, the consciousness is purified by “param vijayate Shri Krsna sankirtanam”.

As the Sankirtan movement is, this Hare Krsna movement, Sankirtana movement does the cleaning of the consciousness, consciousness is cleansed, mind is cleansed, everyday our minds and consciousness becomes polluted because it is contaminated, we are worried about air pollution but what about mind pollution, Isn’t it polluted. So begin with purifying the mind then surrounding also become, right actions, then thoughts, then speech and action, so origin is in the thought, thought process. Everyday so much dirt gets into the mind, what about cleansing that mind, you do lot of good to the family, to that individual, to that family, to that society, country, humanity at large could be benefited. So residents of Vrindavan, Gokul, they are doing that. These minds are satisfied.

sa vai manah Krsna padaravindayor (SB 9.4.18)

sa vai manah Krsna pradra vindayor, on their mind, there are charnar vinda, lotus feet of the lord is, always thinking meditation upon the lord’s lotus feet, the mind becomes purified, “atma atma vidyaya”, and they my Krsna consciousness, the atma and our consciousness about my , so samaskara , then sanskara’s are meant for purifying, our whole existence, samsakara “sanskarate bhajte dvijah”

One becomes, twice born by undergoing some samsakara, processes different vidhi vidhan, different undertakings, they are meant to purify, from womb to dome. Child with the right consciousness, purified consciousness would appear, Garbhadhan Samskara, then Namakaran samsakara, vidhya arambh samsakara, time to go to school, learning reading writing, vidya samsakara, vivah samsakara, marriage ceremony, vivah yajna or vivah samsakara, the scared thing to do, the vivah is only in human society, you get some invitation, wedding invitation from other societies , that dog is getting married, in fact this marriage institution is a special feature of the human society. You can’t stay brahmachari, naishtika brahmachari for whole life, can’t stay, so you are happy when I say you can’t stay and enter Grastha ashram, Grastha ashram, you have to belong one of the four ashram, if you claim that you are human being, then you have to be part of one these ashrams.

1. Brahmachari ashram
2. Grastha ashram
3. Vanaprastha ashram
4. Sannyasa ashram

One of these ashrams, so this grastha ashram entrance is yajna, this is samsakara, so lot of people are not getting married these days, like other species, other bird society, animal society, no marriages, now human society alos no more marriages, no way, no better, we are no better not different. Someway we are trying to prove we are no less then you animals. We also don’t marry but these are samskara’s meant for purification and more and more and then there is antim samsakara.

So, these samskara’s are meant for purification, so this child has taken birth and jata karma, at that time, there is a samsakara, so this is all culture being followed, practiced. Here we are getting, example is there.

saumangalya giro viprah
suta Magadha vandinah
gayakas ca jagur nedur (SB 10.5.5)

There are different, just talk different instruments were being played, creating all auspiciousness.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna hare hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram ram ram hare hare (kirtan by Gurudev)
Nitai gaur premanande, hari haribol

So like this singers are singing, musician are playing different instruments.

gavo vrsa vatsatara (SB 10.5.7)

Cows are being decorated, maharha-vastrabharana ( SB 10.5.8) people are arriving , wearing new cloths,
some of them are wearing turbans.

gopah samayayu rajan
nano payana-panayah (SB 10.5.8)

And different gifts are also, gift giving was on Nand Maharaj is so happy, just giving so many gifts on
this occasion of his son’s birthday, birthday party, first ever birthday party also.

gopyas cakarnya mudita
yasodayah sutdbhavam (SB 10.5.9)

Word is spreading, what is the word, “yasodayah sutodbhavam” Yashoda has given birth to son,
Yashoda has a son, Yashoda has a son, whole Braj is just happy.

nava kunkuma kinjalka
mukha pankaja bhutayah (SB 10.5.10)

People are, they are all beautiful features, lotus face they have, lotus eyes they have and they are filling their ears with this news, this news is becoming the decoration for the ears, not because of the ear rings, ears are decorated with this news, Krsna has taken birth, it is the decoration and those who are coming, also bringing lots of gifts for Nand, Yashoda and for Sri Krsna specially. “gopyah mani kundala ( SB 10.5.11) gopis are arriving , they have lockets, they have so many ornaments around their necks, ankle bells “citrambarah” ambarah they are wearing different garments of different colours and they have flowers in the hair decoration, but as they are going little faster, they want to get their quickly, so some of the flowers are falling down and because hundreds and thousands of gopis are walking so whole, the path is flowers everywhere, flowers fallen from gopis head.

nandalayam sa valaya vrajatir virejur
vyalola kundala payodhara hara sobhah (SB 10.5.11)

Sukhdev Goswami, as is describing, giving so many details of how people look like, those who are coming, How Kundala, as they are walking, they are, the earrings are moving and as all they arrived, “asisah” they want to go where is the child, where is the child, the big crowd, all want to go and see the child and blessed the child and offer ciram pahiti balake ( SB 10.5. 12) let god protect the child, god himself is here and they are , “let god protect the child’. They don’t know, that is God, it is vatsalaya of Braj wasis. In Vrindavan he is just their child, this kind of affection, this kind of understanding they have. Not majestic Lord, they don’t have over reference to this child, as considering him as a Lord, otherwise they cannot express that affection. So they are full of vatsalaya bhav.

haridra curna tailadbhih
sincantyo janam ujjaguh (SB 10.5.12)

So, they are all throwing some powders, or some mixture of the turmeric and oil, is being sprinkled, causes auspiciousness on the child.

vaditrani mahotsave (SB 10.5.13)

Vaditarni, so many instruments are, musical instruments being played.

krsne visvesvare nante
nandasya vrajam agate (SB 10.5.13)

The Krsna, Krsna has appeared, visvesvare, Vishva Ishwar, Ishwar of the vishwa, as the master of the universe, Lord of the universe “anante” he is unlimited but now he is appearing as just a son, Nandasya Balakam, leap Balakam.

Kada Lakshyami balakam, leap malakam

They are very anxious to see the child, Nandasya Balakam, leap Malakam, the Balak is also wearing garland of Kadamba flowers, other flowers. “ Lasat tilak bhalkam”. He has tilak on his forehead “palakam sarva satvanam” as he is the protector of all the devotees and they want to see.

kada darshyami nandasya balakam

The one who see the child and offer gifts, blessings

gopah parasparam hrsta
dadhi krisa ghrtambubhih (SB 10.5.14)

And now they started the throwing of different milk products at each other, dadhi, yoghurt and butter being thrown form all different directions, throwing the time of holi, as they throw colours, this is tons of yoghurt and milk products in Vrindavan. These all residents of Vrindavan, they all have cows, those cows navnitam ‘navanitais ca ciksipuh (SB 10.5. 14) they started throwing at each other and having a big festival.

nando maha manas tebhyo
vaso lankara go dhanam
ye nye vidyopajivinah (SB 10.5.15)

Everyone has come, the ladies and gentlemen and vipra’s and Brahmana’s, they depend, their livelihood, some of them there livelihood depends on just teaching, education and they are gifts also from Nanda Maharaj.

tais taih kamair adinatma
yathocitam apujayat (SB 10.5.16)

So, Nanda Maharaja, is like that all those guests “atithi devo bhava” is treating them as if God have come. All there Braja vasis and this wonderful reception for them and they are getting so many different gifts, in return.

vishnor aradhanarthaya (SB 10.5.16)

All these residents of Vrindavan, they have come for darshan of Krsna and that way they are doing aradhana of Vishnu, of Lord Sri Krsna.

rohini ca maha bhaga
nana gopadbhinandita (SB 10.5.17)

And amongst them, the specially has been mentioned here is Rohini, she is very fortunate, “maha-bhaga”, “rohini ca maha bhaga” she is mother of Balaram and she will alos have now opportunity to serve Krsna and Balaram, what a great fortune , “rohini ca maha bhaga” and one of her services is reception, receiving the guests looking after them, so “vyacarad” she is kind of wondering all around over receiving the guests.

tata arabhya nandasya
vrajah sarva samrddhiman
harer nivasatma gunai
ramakridam abhun nrpa (SB 10.5.18)

So Sukhdev Goswami, is making a comment as Lord appears now in Gokul and specially Nanda Bhavan, and Nanda Bhavan has become Harer Nivas, Hari Nivas, the abode of the Lord and where there is Lord “ramakridam abhun nrpa” there you will find Lakshmi, where there is Narayan, source of Narayan, Sri Krsna, Lakshmi is also there. So Lakshmi is residing now in Gokul, according to Brahma.

lak?m?-sahasra-?ata-sambhrama-sevyam?na?
govindam ?di-puru?a? tam aha? bhaj?mi

Where there is Krsna, krsna’s lotus feet are served by Lakshmi, how many lakshmi’s , lak?m?- sahasra-?ata-sambhrama, hundreds and thousands of Lakshmi’s, they want to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. Then there will be no shortage of anything. Just worship, Govinda worship, Sri Krsna, Lakshmi pati, He is Lakshmi pati, otherwise Lakshmi is chanchal, Lakshmi comes and goes but if you catch hold of Hari, Narayan then with that comes Lakshmi also.

Lakshmi Narayan ki Jai

But lot of time, preference is given to Lakshmi and forgot Narayan that is Rawan Program, he took away Lakshmi, sita is Lakshmi and one was the, not interested in Ram. His interest is Sita, the death was the result, lost his life.

gopan gokula raksayam
nirupya mathuram gatah
nandah kamsasya varsikyam
karam datum kurudvaha (SB 10.5.19)
Nanda ke lala ki jai.
Krsna Kaniya lal ki jai.

Nanda utsav, very grand, Sri Krsna appearance day festival concluded. So that days description of that festival is here, this description brings us closer to Krsna, closer to Gokul and helps us to enter eternal celebration gives us experience of be there and what are those 5000, so many hundred years that distance doesn’t felt. This pastimes of Lord are eternal, they are not old pastimes, old history, it is dead history, this is life, this is lively, every time we hear, read the past time appears come alive.

So when festival gets over, we don’t want to leave the festival, we like staying with the festival, but as we keep hearing, after hearing comes, hearing is the beginning that’s not end, next thing we have to do is thinking , contemplating remembering that past time.

Bhagavat Katha, there is another Bhagavat katha that took place, it was recited by Gokarna for the benefit of his brother Dhundakari. So many others also heard that katha, there was conclusion/samapan the last day, yagya took place. Then one little plane arrived to bring someone back to Vaikunth, back to Lord’s abode. But the air host was kind of signalling you come, he was Dhundakari, brother of Gokarna, you come, you come. So this person was like getting ready to board the plane, as they are going to start the engine again, before take off, so Gokarna the speaker of Bhagavat say, hey, wait a minute. What happened, thousands were hearing katha and you are bringing only one person back to godhead. I was expecting you to come with big Jambo Jets and give lift to everybody, all have heard katha. What happened? What’s the difference?

This person who you are working to bring back, he heard, others also hear, what is the difference between hearing and hearing and those hari dasa’s who had come from Lord’s abode bring this one person, they explained, yes, yes everyone heard that’s true, but they walk out the door, they left the katha, they didn’t do mananam. They have used the word (Haridas) Mananam. There was no Mananam, no contemplation, bringing that topic back, if thinking, contemplating and other reasons, how desperately this person was hearing, with a really anxious and he also had all the faith in the words spoken. So this particular person hearing was special, that made him eligible to Krsna’s abode. So these Haridas said, you organise katha one more time, in the beginning you could tell them okay mananam has to be there.

sradha balwati dhyanam

Faith has to be there, sanshay atmanan visnasyati, if you doubt, you are doomed, let them hear following these conditions. We could come back. There is no shortage of air craft’s, we could lift everybody. So they, this is what they did, next time when katha was organised, this time they really heard with full attention. They were desperate, all day they were thinking, calling each other and reminding past time no hai, hello kewal Hare Krsna bolo. Sharing this and making that as a treasure and preserving/contemplating that, this katha is Lord, has to be preserved. Go back, revisit. I thought to say this towards the beginning of the Katha, not towards the end. So it is not too late, we have few more days to do. So just to conclude this chapter. Vasudeva has a visitor Nanda Maharaj. Nanda Maharaja goes to Mathura to pay all the taxes. He wants to be in good books of the kind. So he is personally going, making all the payments and upon the payment dues were paid then there was a
great meeting between Nanda Maharaja and Vasudev.

upalabdho bhavan adya
durlabham priya darsanam (SB 10.5.24)

This is very rare to meet our own people. We are always busy but today we are meeting so they are, as soon as Vasudev saw Nanda Maharaj, Vasudev gets up and receives him with deep embrace, they are over whelmed and as far as the topic is Krsna, how are children. Vasudev is interested of course in the welfare of Krsna, Balaram, specially he knows about Krsna but Vasudev says you better should go back right away. Nanda Maharaj, you go back to Gokul right away and he gives his warning that there may be some troubles expected in Gokul.

So you should rush back, so Nand Maharaj is now returning from Mathura to Gokul and that is the sixth day, Krsna is six days old and when he was one day old, this festival, Nanda utsav, when he was six days old, another festival was going to be held in Gokul and as Nanda Maharaj ji is returning there are really. It is not very good and what has happened is “Putna had come”. “Putna had come”. So that’s the next pastime, Krsna is six days old
and putna is killed and many interesting details of that past time, very famous past time of lord. Sri Krsna devotees relish this all the time and the kindness Krsna has even showed to this Putna is also known for that.

So we will remembering that, hearing, unless we hear difficult to remember. So will be hearing that past time which will help us many interesting details which we will be sharing tomorrow. What Krsna was thinking, he had his eyes closed, he is in the lap of Putna, he is thinking this way or that way, even the thoughts of Krsna, what Krsna was thinking about. So we will get more closer to the Lord as we narrate the past time of “Krsna Killing Putna” tomorrow.

Nitali Gaur Preamanande, hari Hari bol.

Srimad Bhagavatam teaches us know the Lord
Krishna Lila Vrindavan Pastime Part 3
Venue: Durban, South Africa
11 07 2007

Hare Krishna, say ‘Hare Krishna!’ Thank you for coming again and again and again you could come . This is good, coming again and again to see Lord Krishna, to His lotus feet. May you be never tired of coming and hearing, haribol!!!

We shouldn’t only come to the temple for darsana of the Lord. His darsana becomes more possible in the pages of Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. That’s the way to see the Lord, not with the eyes but with the ears, that’s how we see Krishna. In the very beginning of Bhagavatam there’s talk even of Lord’s returning to His abode and the statement says,

krsna sva dhamopagate dharma jnanadibhih saha (S.B 1.3.43)

He took everything, even jnana, the knowledge, everything He took everything with Him and as a result there was a total darkness. That was the age of kali. Darkness was everywhere, not being able to see. See but not see at the same time. Seeing the world, seeing the matter is not really seeing. See beyond the matter or see beyond the material existence. See something that is out of this world.

The first time I came to South Africa and visited this temple, as I entered I kind of understood the term that we use ‘Something out of this world’, haribol!!!. The first time I came in here (shouts of haribol)! In the airport and then on the way to the temple, that was the world, that is the world but then when I came in here and had darsana of the deities and all that which we are seeing here, I thought ‘This is out of this world!’ So eyes could see things beyond matter, a personality who is the source of this matter, a personality who is the controller of this matter.
So when Lord departed, when He took everything with Him.
Kalau nashta drisam esha [S.B 1.3.43]

Some people lost their eyesight and at that time the Lord kindly arranged

puranarko ‘dhunoditah [S.B 1.3.43]

This Purana, Srimad Bhagavad Puran, is described as brilliant as sun. Bhagavatam which is brilliant as sun appeared over the horizon. It appeared in this world. The Lord returned or disappeared and Bhagavatam appeared in place of the Lord. This is as good as the Lord and can try to give us better eyesight but what do we see with our eyes or glasses? Not much. We need ‘divya chakshu, castra chakshu, Srimad Bhagavatam’ to acquire that vision.
Srimad Bhagavatam ki Jai!

I am trying to say something to glorify Bhagavatam. One time North America devotees were travelling, preaching and distributing books. One particular party they had so many books for carrying that they had no additional space for deities to be carried, so that devotees could offer arati to the deities. So they approached Srila Prabhupada, the whole thing is full of books! Gita and Bhagavatam so there is no room to have deities to be worshipped.’ Prabhupada said ‘Put the books on the alter and worship the books, worship Bhagavatam’ [Haribol]. So that is as worshipping the Lord. So Sukadeva Goswami ki jai!

As he was about to begin recitation of Bhagavatam, he was going to do that for seven days and seven nights. Sometimes (they ask) why seven days? The solution to a big problem of dying. We all die within seven days you would be all, me included would leave in these seven days.

Means someone will die on Monday, someone Tuesday, Monday, Friday, that means in seven days everyone dies [laughter]. So if you hear Bhagavatam for seven days then no more birth, no more death. A kind of reward that we get. And just the liberation is not the goal of recitation of Bhagavatam. Demigods probably found that way so when they got the news that King Parikshit, ‘he has been cursed to die within seven days!’ Then they rushed to Hastinapur and by that time, Sukadeva Goswami he had already taken his asana to recite Bhagavatam and the Demigods arrived. They said ‘We have Amrita, we have nectar.’ With churning of the ocean, the demigods did a big churning of the ocean and different items emerged. Finally the amrita was there. Kumbha mela time the amrita comes back again and everyone comes, hundreds and thousands of, millions of people come to get that nectar. So they said ‘We have some of that nectar! Please offer this to king Parikshit and in exchange you could give us Bhagavatam, Bhagavatamrit. We have amrit so in exchange of this amrita you give this to king Parikshit to become immortal and give us Bhagavat in exchange.’

Sukadeva Goswami said ‘Get lost, you do not understand the value of Bhagavatam.’ It is not meant only for becoming amar or attaining moksha, becoming immortal. Bhagavatam gives something beyond mukti and that is bhakti. We were discussing yesterday how bhakta gets Bhagavan through bhakti. This bhakti sastra, by doing bhakti we get Bhagavan.
Granth Raj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki Jai.

sachidanand rupaya vishvotpatyadi hetve
tapatraya vinashaya shri krsnaya vayam namah

The Lord is Sac-cid-anand. He is the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction of this whole existence, and He could also become the cause of tapatraya. The three kinds of miseries are adhyatmika, adhidaivika and Adhibhautika. Sri k???aya vayam namah, to such Sri Krishna who could pray to make us free from tapa traya vinasaya. Unto such Lord Sachidananda, Sri Krishna vayam namah, we offer our most humble obeisance’s.

King Parkshit, of course he had seven days then he was hearing Bhagavatam for seven days. If you have seven months you should be reciting Bhagavatam for seven months and if you have seventy years at your disposal, you should be reciting Srimad Bhagavatam, hearing Srimad Bhagavatam for all those seventy years. Nityam Bhagavata Sevaya is in fact the recommendation.

nityam bhagavata sevaya
bhagavaty uttama sloke
bhaktir bhavati naisthiki

Recite Bhagavatam constantly, all the time. Bhaktir bhavati- you will achieve bhakti. Irreversible, the listener of Bhagavatam gets established his relationship with the Lord and he doesn’t get any further U-turn, becoming mouse again. He keeps going, moving forward because he achieves bhakti which is nistha. Yesterday we said in the beginning that there is a need of shraddha, but shraddha could be komal shraddha – tender.

By hearing Srimad Bhagavatam we become dridha shraddha, nisthavan. Dridha shraddha becomes nisthavan by reciting Srimad Bhagavatam. The goal for King Parikshit and each one of us is to ‘ante narayana smrtih.’ ante – at the time of death, remembrance of Narayan, if you could remember Narayan at the last breath. It does become difficult during those last moments.

kanthavarodhana-vidhau smaranam kutas te [Mukunda Mala Stotra 33]

Translation: When my voice would get choked up by kanthavarodhana – mucus, kanthe ghura ghurayate – it becomes tough to remember the Lord as of course one king, king Kulasekhar says ‘now is the time my dear Lord. Let my mind settle in thinking of you.

krsna tvadiya pada pankaja panjarantam
adyaiva me visatu manasa raja hamsah [Mukunda Mala Stotra 33]

My mind, he is comparing his mind with a swan and ‘dear Lord, with your lotus feet, your feet which are lotus-like and my mind which is swan like, let them be together, lotus and swan. Now is a good time for remembering you my Lord.’

So ante narayana smrtih, remembrance of the Lord.

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg 8.6}

So what we remember at the time of death determines our future. So we need to practice remembrance of the Lord. It won’t just happen {clicks fingers}. Practice, we are remembering the Lord. Practice could make us ladies and gentlemen perfect. We sent few devotees, they were in Haridwar and they saw that some big free coca-cola distribution was going on, free coca cola. Devotees were seeing so some were enquiring that ‘how come? There’s also Ganga jal here, you can have water and nimbu pani also’ [lemon water]. ‘Those kinds of things including charanamrita so why is coca-cola on free distribution?’ So as devotees were a little curious they found that a few brothers were there ‘Our father departed you know’ they said ‘our father died.’

They said ‘that’s fine but what has that got to do with the coca-cola distribution?’ So the brothers they said ‘You know at the time of our father’s departure he was remembering coca-cola. He was a devotee of Bhola, Shiva.’ So they said ‘We kind of kept reminding him that ‘father father please say Bhola. You only have a few more breaths to go so say ‘Bhola.’

‘No, no get coca-cola.’ His sons were really endeavoring, making a special appeal ‘Daddy, daddy please, please say Bhola.’ The last thing daddy said was ‘coca cola.’ So the sons were kind of executing the will of last minute, what he said it was ‘coca cola.’ Anyway their father went to Coca-Cola loka [laughter].

The goal is ante narayana smrtih, Krishna smrtih, and Bhagavatam helps us to remember the Supreme Lord all the time including the time of the last breath as well.

Grantha Raj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki Jai!

If you say ‘just remember the Lord’ it would be difficult. But if you say ‘Do you remember my friend?’ ‘Oh, which friend are you talking about? Where does he stay? How does he look like? Please tell me all this and then I can tell whether I remember him, whether I have met him before.’ So how could anyone remember the Lord? Remembering the Lord is remembering his name, fame, glories.

sri radhika madhavayor apara madhurya lila guna rupa namnam
prati ksanasvadana lolupasya vande guroh sri caranaravindam [Guru Astaka ]

Our acaryas, predecessor acaryas have set an example before us. Prati ksanasvadana lolupasya, at every moment they have become addicted, addiction for hearing. What do they hear?

Radha madhavayor apara, Radha Madhava or Radha Radhanath guna rupa namnam.

His name, His qualities, His pastimes, His abode. So Srimad Bhagavatam helps us. ‘Here is how the Lord looks like!’ And then you could remember the Lord, by seeing His form you could remember the Lord. ‘These are His qualities, His wonderful qualities.’ So we do not know and we do not love the Lord, maybe not enough because we do not know Him enough. The more we know Him, the more we would love Him. He is the most lovable object in the form and not just any and every form, we have an eternal relationship with that person Sri Krishna. This is just revival, by hearing Bhagavatam, our relationship is revived and established and further solidified. The bonds of relationship and love and affection become stronger as we hear about the Lord. Chant His holy names.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

So chanting the holy names and hearing Lord’s pastimes, worshipping the Lord and His form and rendering lots of services unto the Lord. As we said that the Srimad Bhagavatam is a bhakti sastra so it teaches us how to first understand the Lord, know the Lord, serve the Lord.

So yesterday we heard of the Lord’s appearance in this world, how many years ago? Probably there are 300 different answers [laughter].I couldn’t process all those. The Lord appeared, He exists. The world is still debating that ‘Does God exist?’ All debate going on and here we are talking that the Lord appeared. So here is the exact date, the year and everything. We need to know, it’s available, the knowledge is available. You could even go to those places where Krishna performed His pastimes, the hill that He lifted. The Govardhan hill is there. Seeing is believing, go see the footprints of Krishna here and there all over Vrndavan. You are very close ‘Oh! Footprints of Krishna right over here!’ Some devotees try to touch, their hands tremble as they try to touch that spot and then they take that dust and they smear that all over their bodies. ‘They eat some of that dust that Krishna entered. Oh! This rock was touched by Krishna’s lotus feet and this dust is touching that footprint, let this dust enter me.’ Then they take a little pinch and eat, Krishna enters them in that way.

Vrindavan dham ki jai!
Gokul Dham ki Jai!

Qualities of the Lord are unlimited
Bhagavatam katha -Day three
Venue: Pune
Dated: January 9, 2019

All of you have come with great eagerness to hear katha I welcome you all. Series of katha is going on here. We are meditating on the svarupa of the Lord like in Maharashtra we have chintan baithak. Meditating on the Lord is the best meditation.

When person meditates on the material subject matters he gets attached to them.

dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah kamat krodho ‘bhijayate (BG 2.62)

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

When one meditates on the object of senses person gets attached and from attachment lust develops and from lust  anger arises, this the sequence.

krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smrti-vibhramah
smrti-bhramsad buddhi-naso buddhi-nasat pranasyati (BG 2.63)

From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.

The intelligent in the driver, our body is a chariot. The senses are the horses and reins are in the hands of the intelligence.

The human society is falling down there is no development but everything is going down. All glories to the technology and the scientist group. Every parent wants his child to become engineer. My parents were not an exception they also wanted to make me engineer. Everybody in my village used to call me engineer. So what has to be been?

We don’t say you don’t meditate but what should be the subject of meditation? One should meditate on the Lord. We should make the Lord the subject of meditation. Making Lord the subject, meaning making His name the subject of meditation, also His guna, His rupa, lila like Tukaram Maharaja. .

pahine  sri mukha avadine

He made Lords beautiful form as his topic for meditation.

Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate  (CC Madhya 19.170)

This is definition of Bhakti.  Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and, simply by being employed in the service of the Lord, one’s senses are purified.

‘One is bhakti and another is bhukti. One is yoga and another bhoga. But the world says bhogi bhava, become enjoyer and Lord says yogi bhava, become yogi.  World says enjoy. So if you become bhogi then be ready to become rogi. First go to five star hotels to enjoy then finally get transferred to five star hospitals. This is their style, they say we will die in style. This is slow death process and we are moving on that slowly. This is all kali puran.

So if you want to meditate, meditate on nama, rupa, guna, lila and dhama of the Lord. So that’s why we made it as the topic of this year’s Bhagavat katha. So that we can meditate and also speak on it.

Yare dekho tare kaho krishna upadesa (CC Madhya 7.128)

Whomever you meet tell about Krsna. Whatever we meditate on we become attached. This in law, that is what happens. Whatever you think about you become attached. If the subject is material then you get attached to it but if the topic is spiritual then you get attached to the Lord. The law is same. So meditate on name, rupa, guna, lila and dhama and become attached to them.

We become lusty by mediating on the material topics but if you meditate on Lords subject then you get attached to them. There are only two thing- lust and love. When we call people for katha they say I am busy ‘may kama may hu.” But if somebody is in love he is premi he will run to hear katha. Then there is no question of anger or krodha. We will get attracted to the Lord and Lord is Madan mohan

tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te (BG 10.10)

Vinasakale viparita buddhi

Lord says, to those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.  So l give them intelligence and he uses that intelligence to come to Me. But on the other hand lusty person will go to hell and he will fall down.

So these are the teachings of Gita. Lord appeared for us and showed us the way of ISKCON. People are also joining.  This is the third session only two are now left. Five days we had five topics. So today’s topic is qualities of the Lord. I will briefly discuss about all the topics.

Lord has lakhs of names. How does He have so many names? Just  food for thought. Subhang – Lord’s anga is all auspicious. So He is called Subhang Balaram. And how is His beauty He is Shyamvarana so called as Shyamsundar.

His name is Krsna, ya karsati sa Krsna, because he attracts everyone. So also He is called Cittachor also known as Makhan chor. Then is called Shankadhari as conch is part of His body. Then Padadhari and Gadadhari. Like that He has lakhs of names. Chakradhari and Chakrapani beause He holds chakra on His finger. Also called as Damodhara because of damodhar lila. Damodhara because his udar is tied with rope.

bandha ukhadala yala  bandhaukhadala

Murlidhara is famous name as He holds murli, and veenudhara, Vamsidhara. Yesterday we heard about three types of flutes Krsna uses. So accordingly are the names. In Kuruksetra He was chariot driver of Partha so called as Parthsarthi.  His father said to Him hurry up bring my shoes. He is ordering the Lord. As Lord is his son. According to the lilas He is named. So much love.

suhrdah sarva-dehinam

I am the best friend, you will never get such friend. To such Krsna i pay obeisances again and again. He is also called Bhaktavatsal because of His love for His devotees. Gopal go-cows, pal-palak protector.

Nandagodhan rakhavala, Dauji ka bhaiya, Dauji is elder brother of Krsna. Giridhari, Rasarachaiya. There is a song which is full of names of the Lord.

Vibhavari sesa alok pravesa….
Rasakhan is Krsna.
aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga itingina

6 opulences of Lord these are also His qualities. How much wealthy He is? samagrasya, nothing is left for you. He is proprietor of everyone but such Krsna is ours. That’s a good news. Viryavan, He is strong He is victorious there are names in marathi we call Yashvan. But original Yashvan is Lord there can be Yashvan das. The person who has these 6 qualities is Lord. This is knowledge. There are many such Gods moving around in India be alert. We should have this knowledge or we will be cheated.

vedaham samatitani
vartamanani carjuna
bhavisyani ca bhutani (BG 7.26)

Supreme Personality of Godhead says, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. These are the qualities of the Lord.

Many liberated souls get attracted to the qualities of the Lord.  All different varieties of atmaramas [those who take pleasure in atma, or spirit self] also get attracted like Sukadev Goswami, he stayed for 16 years in the womb of his mother he was absorbed there he did not want to come out, then his father made him hear the glories of nama, guna, lila then he came ou t of the womb. As soon he was born he ran towards the forest to have darsana of the Lord. In a big assembly Shaunaka rishis asked how this happened? There 88000 rishis were sitting.  How did Sukadev Goswami come out?  Mukti and bhakti are different we have to become bhakta. Lord has such qualities that he attracts even the atmarama.

atmaramas cha munayo nirgrantha api urukrame
kurvanti ahaituki bhakti itthambhuta gunah Hari (SB 1.7.10)

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

‘guna‘ sabdera artha — krishnera guna ananta
sac-cid-rupa–guna sarva purnananda (CC Madhya 24.41)

“The word ‘guna‘ means ‘quality.’ The qualities of Krishna are transcendentally situated and are unlimited in quantity. All of the spiritual qualities are full of transcendental bliss.

Lord is always full of qualities.

suno, he rasika jana krishna-guna aganana
ananta kahite nahi pare krishna jagater guru,

krishna vanca-kalpa-taru navika se bhava-parabare (Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s famous Bengali songbook, Kalyana Kalpa-taru)

Listen to this, oh wisest relishers of mellows! The transcendental qualities of Shri Krsna are innumerable; indeed it is not possible to describe such unlimited divine attributes. Krsna is the spiritual master of the entire universe, He is like a wish-fulfilling desire-tree, and He is the helmsman of the boat on the ocean of material existence. You all rasikjana.

One form of the Lord is Anantasesa. He comes form Balaram. He is called Sahastravadan because He has 1000 mouths. He reciting the nama, rupa, guna and lila He has started since the creation. On His hood He carries all the universes  and keeps them moving that is how they stay in orbit which the scientist call law of gravity.  So Anantasesa keeps reciting Lords nama,rupa, guna and lila. When He got the service of carrying the universes on His hoods He asked how long I have to carry them. You keep reciting the nama, rupa, guan lila katha of the Lord and once you finish that you can keep them down. So since the recitation has started it’s going on till now. We are fallen jiva we can’t even imagine how many qualities the Lord has.

The smallest particle is atom and then there is electron and proton. The earth is made of many atoms, one can count the atoms in the earth but to count the qualities of Lord is impossible. Also the snow particles they keep falling the whole night. When Srila Prabhupada saw snow in New York for the first time . He said who did this white wash. One can count the snow particles but to count the qualities of the Lord is impossible. Similarly the sunray particles one can count but Lords qualities counting is not possible.

When asked how’s the Lord? We all say Nirguna. This preaching is done by the mayavadis. In Sastras also Lord is called Nirguna that’s ok one should know the meaning of the word Nirguna. That means He has no material qualities He is away from material qualities.

Bhagavatam is our authoritative sastra. In first canto queen Kunti prayers,

namasye purusam tvadyam isvaram prakrteh param
alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antar bahir avasthitam  (SB 1.8.18)

She was standing in front of  Krsna as He was moving for Dwaraka. So she recites the prayers.

O Krsna, I offer my obeisances unto You because You are the original personality and are unaffected by the qualities of the material world. You are existing both within and without everything, yet You are invisible to all.

You are Adi Purusa, you are Parmeshvara and you are beyond this material nature. Your qualities are divine. So nirakar means He does not have material form.  So when Anantasesa recites katha there is crowd of people at His every mouth.

adyapiha ‘sesa’-deva sahasra-sri-mukhe
gayena chaitanya-yasa, anta nahi dekhe  (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat: Adi 1.69)

“To this very day, Lord Sesa chants Sri Chaitanya’s glories with thousands of mouths and still does not see their end.”

vrndavana-gamana, prabhu-caritra ananta
sahasra-vadana yanra nahi pa na anta (CC Madhya 18.223)

Krsna Dasa Kaviraja described how Caitnaya Mahaprabhu  was welcomed in Vrndavan. Brids are singing and trees are shaking their branches and flowers are falling on His feet welcoming. Some trees are giving fruits. Caitanya Mahaprabhu reaches bank of Yammuna, there came deer and started licking Him. Yammuna was bewildered oh My Lord has come. She moved towards Him and washed His feet. This Krsna Dasa Kaviraja has described but he said at the end only Anantasesa can glorify the qualities of the Lord I can’t do that.

There are many qualities in the Lord but Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu states 64 qualities. Of  them 50 qualities are there in us in lower degree. Like a mountain of gold and ring of gold. 5 more qualities are found in Demigods Brahma, Shiva. 5 more qualities are in the expansions of the Lord.  4 more qualities are there Lord Krsna only. Lord Krsna is avatari.

Four qualities are Rupa madhurya, Guna madhurya, Lila madhurya and Veenu madhurya. Demigods are not expansions of the Lord. They are svargavasi but the expansions of the Lord stay in Vaikuntha. Try to understand this.

Then comes the 64 qualities of the Lord.

Shrila Rupa Gosvami, after consulting various scriptures, has enumerated the transcendental qualities of the Lord Shri Krishna as follows:

(1) Beautiful features of the entire body; 
(2) Marked with all auspicious characteristics; 
(3) Extremely pleasing; 
(4) Effulgent; 
(5) Strong; 
(6) Ever youthful; 
(7) Wonderful linguist; 
(8) Truthful; 
(9) Talks pleasingly; 
(10) Fluent; 
(11) Highly learned; 
(12) Highly intelligent; 
(13) A genius; 
(14) Artistic; 
(15) Extremely clever; 
(16) Expert; 
(17) Grateful; 
(18) Firmly determined; 
(19) An expert judge of time and circumstances; 
(20) Sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures; 
(21) Pure; 
(22) Self-controlled; 
(23) Steadfast; 
(24) Forbearing; 
(25) Forgiving; 
(26) Grave; 
(27) Self-satisfied; 
(28) Possessing equilibrium; 
(29) Magnanimous; 
(30) Religious; 
(31) Heroic; 
(32) Compassionate; 
(33) Respectful; 
(34) Gentle; 
(35) Liberal; 
(36) Shy; 
(37) The protector of surrendered souls; 
(38) Happy; 
(39) The well-wisher of devotees; 
(40) Controlled by love; 
(41) All-auspicious; 
(42) Most powerful; 
(43) All-famous; 
(44) Popular; 
(45) Partial to devotees; 
(46) Very attractive to all women; 
(47) All-worshipable; 
(48) All-opulent; 
(49) All-honorable; 
(50) The supreme controller.

 (51) Changeless; 
(52) All-cognizant; 
(53) Ever fresh; 
(54) Sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful body); 
(55) Possessing all mystic perfections.

 (56) He has inconceivable potency. 
(57) Uncountable universes generate from His body. 
(58) He is the original source of all incarnations. 
(59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. 
(60) He is the attractor of liberated soul.

 (61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes). 
(62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. 
(63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. 
(64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.

Srila Prabhupadaki..jai. I remembered Prabhupada because Prabhupada has translated Bhakti Rasamrita grantha for us, so you should all keep this grantha in your house you can take it from the book stall.

I wanted attract your attention , to this pranam mantra

namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-chaitanya- namne gaura-tvishe namah

The name, form, qualities and pastimes are mentioned in this pranam mantra.

Lord is very very magnanimous. Most magnanimous Lord is Caitanya Mahaprabhu, mahavadanyaya. That’s the quality.

Krishna prema prada- The giver of Krishna prema. He gives Krishna prema. The pastime of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is to distribute Krishna prema.

krishnaya krishna-chaitanya

krishnaya meaning I offer my obeisance’s to Krishna . krishnaya namah. But which Krishna I offer my obeisance’s unto?

“krishnaya krishna caitanya namine”

Whose name is Krishna Caitanya unto that Krishna I offer my obeisance’s. So His name is Krishna Caitanya.

gaura-tvishe namah

Tvisha means complexion. And His complexion is golden. So that’s the form. In this one little pranam mantra Rupa Goswami has mentioned all the four features of Caitanya.

 

Lords Svarupa, His form is Mysterious
Bhagavatam katha -Day two
Venue: Pune
Dated: January 8^th, 2019
Haribol..Gaura Haribol.

Its good you all have come, some new also have joined.  I welcome you all. This place is not any ordinary auditorium, it has become Vaikuntha. Where the glories of  Lord are being sang at that place Lord resides and that place becomes Vaikuntha. This place has become Krsnamaya. Vaikuntha means there is no kuntha. In Pune there is kuntha but as you enter this place there is no kuntha. Which place you like kuntha or Vaikuntha.? Some are still thinking.

So yesterday’s  first session of  katha was meditating on the Lords svarupa, name of the Lord, His Dhama, lila and His guna all are His svarupa. So in yesterday’s session we discussed on Nama svarupa of the Lord.  We showed you on weighing scale on one side Nama and other side Nami. Nama is svarupa of the Lord and Rupa is also svarupa of the Lord.  There are many names of the Lord.

One of them is, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is special name of the Lord. There are some simple names also but Hare Krsna maha-mantra is special name.  Harinama was preached by Lord Himself in form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu

“Hare Krishna nama Gaura karila prachar”

Lord Himself preached His name, please take My name, Lord said. He not only just said but also distributed His name. Caitanya Mahaprabhu toured throughout India, not by airplane but He did padayatra. So much pain He took, He went to each house and thus established dharma for the Kaliyuga.

What is the dharma for Kaliyuga?

 kali-kale dharma hari-namasankirtana

There is no other dharma.

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah

Abandon all types of religion and surrender unto me.

Muslims say Allah, Gurunanak ji also chants Govind Govind, he also has chanting beads in his hand. Our Christian brothers also have their rosary. We have 108 bead in our chanting mala and our Muslim brothers have 99 beads because there are 99 names of Allah. So everyone takes shelter of name of the Lord. Because harinama is dharma for this Kaliyuga.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave the holy name to the whole world, He gave name means what He gave? He gave Himself in the form of name. Take me take this name. During initiation ceremony Hare Krsna maha-mantra is given to chant means Krsna is given. By chanting one realizes one day that name  of  the Lord is Krsna Himself.

When we say Hare Krsna, we call Krsna, Hye Krsna. So as we say Krsna, Krsna manifests Himself and we attract the Lord towards us by calling His name.  With all love and attention we call the Lord. Gajendra also had called the Lord, Lord came immediately. Lords name, when Draupadi called and Lord appeared.  If we call as she called then Lord will appear and ask us, yes what do you want.

Acaryas have given commentaries on the Hare Krsna maha-mantra

mam cittam akarsaya

ya karsati sa krsna, Lord attracts everyone.

Mam cittam – always think of Me. So while chanting these 16 names, we should meditate on the Lord.

Commentary on maha-mantra  by Gopal Guru Goswami,

hare – he hare, mac-cittam hrtva bhava-bandhanan mocaya |

Hare! O Hari, steal my mind and deliver me from bondage to this material world.

krsna – he krsna, mac-cittam akarsaya |

Krsna! O Krsna, attract my mind.

 hare – he hare, sva-madhuryena mac-cittah hara |

Hare! O Hari! Capture my mind with the sweetness of your name, form and pastimes.

krsna – he krsna, sva-bhakta-dvara bhajana-jnana-danena mac-cittam sodhaya |

Krsna! O Krsna! Send me the association of your devotees who will purify my mind through instructions about your devotional service.

krsna – he krsna, nama-rupa-guna-liladisu man-nistham kuru |

Krsna! O Krsna! Give me unflinching faith in your name, form, qualities and pastimes.

krsna – he krsna, rucir bhavatu me |

Krsna! O Krsna! Give me a taste for your name, form, qualities and pastimes.

hare – he hare, nija-seva-yogyam mam kuru |

Hare! O Hari! Make me worthy to engage in your service.

hare – he hare, sva-sevam adisaya |

Hare! O Hara, Radha! Order me personally in the service you wish me to perform.

hare – he hare, sva-presthena saha svabhista-lilam sravaya |

Hare! O Hara, Radha! Give me the opportunity to hear about your own favorite pastimes with your beloved Lord

rama – he rama, presthaya saha svabhista-lilam mam sravaya |

Rama! O Rama! Give me the opportunity to hear about your own favorite pastimes with your beloved Radha.

hare – he hare, sva-presthena saha svabhista-lilam darsaya |

Hare! O Hara, Radha! Give me the opportunity to see your intimate pastimes with your beloved Lord.

rama – he rama, presthaya saha svabhista-lilam mam darsaya |

Rama! O Rama! Give me the opportunity to see your intimate pastimes with your beloved Radha.

rama – he rama, nama-rupa-guna-lila-smaranadisu mam yojaya |

Rama! O Rama! Engage me in hearing, chanting and remembering your name, form, qualities, pastimes.

rama – he rama, tatra mam nija-seva-yogyam kuru |

Rama! O Rama! As I enter into those pastimes by the path of meditation, make me worthy to engage in your service.

hare – he hare, mam svangikrtya ramasva |

Hare! O Hari! Please accept me and take pleasure from the service that I offer you.

hare – he hare, maya saha ramasva |

Hare! O Hari! Take pleasure in me and enjoy with me.

So the serious students or the japa yogis and those who raised hands saying we are chanters can read in detail about the commentary of  Hare Krsna maha-mantra. There is art of chanting, sastra of chanting. And these topics are to be meditated on.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us name means He gave us Lord.

kali–kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara

Name is svarupa it is a personality. So attentive chanting is very important.

In this dharma sabha mostly devotees come and this katha is not for general public it’s for devotees. It’s said chant attentively remember Krsna while chanting.

Chant-Hear –Remember

Oh, what to remember?  Remember the Rupa of the Lord. So nama will take us to  rupa, rupa will take us to lila and then to His associates and finally from nama to dhama. This is the route. So nama will take us to dhama. So while chanting meditate on Rupa, Guna, Lila and Dhama of the Lord. So this year katha is for the chanters. So that they chant more attentively. So it’s compulsory and necessary for the chanter. So today we will hear about Lord’s Rupa, His svarupa.

Lord rupa is described in many sastras and by many acaryas.

adav ante ca madhye ca harih sarvatra giyate

In the Vedic literature,from the very beginning (?dau) to the end (ante ca), as  well as within the middle (madhye ca), only Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is explained.

So glorification of rupa, guna, lila and dhama is done always. Our acarays have written lot about the rupa of the Lord. Tukaram Maharaja who appeared near Pune he had darsana of the Lord and also described the rupa of the Lord in his abhangas. There are different levels of darsana.

arcye visnau sila-dhir (SB 4.21.12)

We think the Deity in the temple to be made of  stone.  But when devotees like Tukaram Maharaja take darsana of the Lord they see Lord as He is. Sometimes the deity is made of white marble but the great acaryas see the Lord as  Shyamsundar Lord. They don’t see with this charma sakshu, the material eyes.  They anoint their eyes with love and devotion.

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti

Lord, Govinda, is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Syamasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee. They see the  Lord.

Suradas of  Vrndavan, he was blind but he also used to go for darsana. People use to ask him why have you come? How can you take darsana, you can’t see?  Once Lord was dressed with less cloths, So  to test him a man asked, how Lord is looking today?

Suradas said ‘aja prabhu nango nango’

So Lord rupa is Lord himself, this is easy to understand. Rather than accepting name as Lord Himself. We hear but we don’t accept easily.

Young brahman and old brahman from Orissa, the young brahman said to the Lord, Lord please come with me to Orissa.Oh,  it’s too long. Brahman said, oh Lord if you can talk you can walk also. So Lord surrender to His devotee and  started walking . Today also  we can have darsana of  that Lord, Sakshgi Gopal.

Also Lord did chori of ksheer for his devotee,  Madhavendra Puri.  In Orissa,  Remuna  there istemple of  ksher chora Gopinath.

So such Lord is glorified by

yambrahma varunendra rudra marutah stunvati divyai stavai

Brahma, Varuna, Rudra, Marutah. Stuvanti, they all glorify the Lord.

Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.14 describes the stuti of  Brahma you can read also brahma samhita. Prabhupada selected some sloks of glorification and during sringar darsana two sloks from Brahma samhita are sang in all temples of ISKCON.

govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami

venum kvanantaravinda-dalayataksham

barhavatamsam asitam buda-sundarangam

kandarpa-kothi-kamaniya visesha sobham

govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrittimanti

pasyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti

ananda-cin-maya-saduj-jvala-vigrahasya

govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami

Murli has become part of Lord as we think of Lord. In the beauty of  Lord vamsi is a main part. It’s part of the Lords svarupa.  And its magic is marvelous in His pastimes.

venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam-
barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam
kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham

Lord is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock’s feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids.

Gopis glorify the Lord, its part of Venu geet, 10^th Canto

barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh kar?ayoh karnikaram
bibhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam
randhran venor adhara-sudhayapurayan gopa-vrndair
vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirti (SB 10.2.5)

Lord wears a peacock-feather ornament upon His head, blue karnikara flowers on His ears. One flower in two ears, some people say He breaks it into two and then wears, but it’s not like that. He puts the flower on one ear then He removes it and puts on another ear.

He wears  a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanti garland. When He goes to forest He wears vanamala, that’s why He is called as Vanamali. Sometimes He wears garland of lotus flowers, so called Padmamali.  He sometimes wears garland of kadam flowers He likes them as they  reminds Him of Radha rani. The color of kadam flower is golden and also of Radha Rani. So that’s reminds Him of  Radha

vaijayantim ca malam

Vaijayanti mala is made up of five different flowers. It’s long till His knees. Sometimes He puts the garland on one of His shoulder so that easily He can paly the flute. I am not saying anything but what I have heard from acrayas. They are the right source. Sometimes he wears garland on His head these are three types of how He wears the garland.

Sundara te dhyana ….

Tukaram maharaja has written 4000 abhangs describing the  Nama,  Rupa, Guna, LIla and Dhama.  In Maharashtra before every Bhagvat katha,  sundar te dhyana abhanga  is sang without that katha is not complete

sundar te dyan ubhe vite vari kar katavari theuniya 

Lord is same He does not have flute in His hand. But He has kept hand on His waist. Tulsi is always there at His lotus feet. Tulsi is Vrndavadevi she is event manager for all the pastimes of the Lord. She engages everyone in service of Lord.

We pray,  seva-adhikara diye koro nija dasi

She is krsna priya so in Pandharpur Lord wears Tulsi in His neck that sign  of His love whatever we like we wear in neck.

Rupa Goswami writes,

kada draksyami nandasya balakam nipa malakam

palakam sarva sattvanam lasat tilaka bhalakam

When will I see Nanda’s son? He is the protector of the devotees. He is garlanded with kadamba flowers, and His forehead is decorated with glistening tilaka.

Prayers of  Kunti Maharani are famous. Krsna was in front of her and she says,

namah pankaja-nabhaya namah pankaja-maline

namah pankaja-netraya namas te pankajanghraye

She can also see Him, He is wearing lotus garland. Lords abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.

When we say Krsna Chandra, its stated in teachings of  Lord Caitanya to Sanatan  Goswami in Varanasi. There its stated Krsna Chandra.

In Krsna’s whole body there are 24 and half moon.

sakhi he, krsna-mukha—dvija-raja-raja
krsna-vapu-simhasane, vasi’ rajya-sasane,
kare sange chandrera samaja

“My friend! The face of Krishna is the king of moons! Krishna sits on the throne, ruling over His kingdom surrounded by an assembly of moons.

dui ganda suchikkana, jini’ mani-sudarpana,
sei dui purna-chandra jani
lalate astami-indu, tahate chandana-bindu,
sei eka purna-chandra mani

“His two glowing cheeks conquer the beauty of shiny gems. I can compare His cheeks to a full moon. On the half-moon of His forehead there is a drop of sandalwood paste that resembles a full moon as well.

kara-nakha-chandera hata, vamsi-upara kare nata,
tara gita muralira tana
pada-nakha-chandra-gana, tale kare nartana,
nupurera dhvani yara gana

“His fingers, with moon-like nails, dance on top of the flute and sing a song that comes out as the melody of the flute. His feet, with toenails that resemble a crowd of moons, dance on the ground, singing a song with the jingling of the ankle bells.

His face is the main moon. This moon is the king of all moon and he needs throne and that is the face of the Lord that’s its throne. His eyes are moons. His tilak is also one moon. And His forehead is half moon. And his nails are one one moon. So total 20 moons of hand and hands. So grand total 24 and half Chandra. So Lord is called Krsna Chandra.

Many yogis mediate on the effulgence coming from the nails of the Lord.

ragah saptasu hanta satsv api sisor angesv alam tungata visaras trisu kharvats trisu tatha gambhirata ca trisu dairghyam pancasu kim ca pancasu sakhe sampreksyate suksmata dvatrimsad-vara-laksanah katham asau gopesu sambhavyate (B.R.S 2.1.49)

There are 32 qualities in the beauty of the Lord. Seven places on His body are red; six parts are elevated; three parts are broad; three parts are short; three parts are deep; five parts are long; five parts are fine.”

Lords 7 parts of body are red in color-  His eyes,  His palms, the soles of His lotus feet, His palate, His lips, His tongue and His nails.

Three parts of His body are broad: His forehead, chest and waist.

Three parts of His body are very deep: His voice, intelligence and navel. His voice is very deep.

megha gambhiraya vacha

Like the rumbling of the clouds reaches long long distance. When the clouds thunder all can hear even if there is no amplification. His voice is gambhira. His intelligence is also deep and mature.

There is highness in five parts of His body: His nose, arms, ears, forehead and thighs.

In five parts of His body there is fineness: His skin, the hair on His head and the other parts of His body, His teeth and His fingertips.

Three types of flutes used by Krsna.

One is called venu, another one is called murali, and the third is called vamsi.

For everyone He has different flute, some for Gopis, some for cows and some for Gopas.

See the Lords lotus feet there are different signs on His sole. In His right feet there are 11 signs and on left feet are 8 signs they have their particular name and function. When we pay obeisances these signs bless us.

On Krishna’s right foot are: konastakam – an eight – pointed star; svastikam – a svastika; cakram – a wheel; chatra – a parasol; yava – a barleycorn; ankusham – an elephant – goad; dhvaja – flag; pavi – a thunderbolt; jambu – jambu fruit; urdhva-rekha – line traveling upwards; ambujam – lotus.

On Krishna’s left foot are: candrardham – half-moon; kalasam – waterpot; tri-kona – triangle; dhanushi – bow; kham – ether; goshpadam – cows hoof-print; proshthikam – fish; shankham – conch-shell.

So there is so much to mediate on, so many signs.

His dressing is also special. Sometimes only two clothes, uttari and dhoti.  Sometimes kuta, dhoti, tyrban and uttari. Sometimes multicolor dresses.

Deity darsana is very important as the topic is Rupa. Prabhupada established 108 temples and now there are so many temples all over. Temples have beautiful deities. So katha is going on since time immemorial. Since the creation its going on and will go on after annihilation also. There is no question. Where Lord is there or not? Lord is there and how is He is described in sastras and our acrayas have described it very nicely. Prabhupada had established the concept that Lord is there and His rupa is there.

Sankaracharya preached nirakar vada for some reason.

brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate (SB 1.2.11)

Brahman realization is impersonal realization, it’s just superficial.  Paramatma is the localized feature, and Bhagavan is the personal feature.

aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriya?

jnana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhagam itingana  (Visnu Pursna 6.5.47)

Bhagavan means who possesses these six opulences in full: all riches, all strength, all influence, all wisdom, all beauty, all renunciation. This is the definition of Bhagavan. Many sastras have explained the opulence’s of the Lord.  Krsna has His rupa and Brahma jyoti comes from His body.

Some people show a light and at end Murlidhara Krsna, so they show that Lord comes from light. They limit the Lord.

avajananti mam mudha?manusum tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto?mama bhuta-mahesvaram

Fools to not understand the form of the Lord.

Lords form looks like us but as said in Bible , Man is made as image of God. At least they accept that Lord has form.  Its looks like our form and Lords form is same but it’s not limited like us. He has many forms. Some yogis can take 8 forms But Lord is Yogeshwar.

kesava dhrita-mina-sarira jaya jagadisa hare, Lord assumed the form of a fish. kesava dhrita-rama-sarira jaya jagadisa hare, He became a tortoise.

kesava dhrita-haladhara-rupa jaya jagadisa hare, He also assumed the form of Balarama. kesava dhrita-kalki-sarira jaya jagadisa hare. Kalki will be coming in future. And what comes from our body just mal and mutra  all dirt.

When Lord came as Vamandev. And as Bali said asked what you want? And Vaman became Trivikrama. No limit to His form was Vaman became Trivikrama

He expands on Sharad purinma night.Lord show the atmosphere on sharad pornima and as He thought and all was arranged and best musicians arrived and music then rasa dance. Many Gopis were there Lord expanded as many Gopis were there. His form is unlimited. Lords’s form is mysterious it’s amazing. We need to understand the tattav of the Lord.

 In Damodhara lila,  Yasodha took rope and every time it was two finger short. The form of Lord was same His waist was small but could not be tied by many many ropes.

Satyavrata Muni is praying,

namas te stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne
tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne

I pay my obeisance to the abdomen which is abode for many many universes.

Yasodha is thinking I want to tie my Krsna’s abdomen but all the universes reside in His abdomen. So He is called Jagannivas.

Also when He ate mud He shows all universes in His mouth to mother Yasodha bewildering her.