Viduras advice to Dhrtarastra

[1:25:57]

om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

We will read from Bhagavatam Canto 1, chapter 13, text 28.

athodicim disam yatu
svair ajnata-gatir bhavan
ito rvak prayasah kalah
pumsa guna-vikarsanah [S.B. 1.13.28]

Translation: Please, therefore, leave for the North immediately, without letting your relatives know, for soon that time will approach which will diminish the good qualities of men.

Dhrtarastra quits home in the chapter and what we are reading is advice of Vidura to Dhrtarastra.

Purport: One can compensate for a life of frustration by becoming a dhira, or leaving home for good without communicating with relatives, and Vidura advised his eldest brother to adopt this way without delay because very quickly the Age of Kali was approaching. A conditioned soul is already degraded by the material association, and still in the Kali-yuga the good qualities of a man will deteriorate to the lowest standard. He was advised to leave home before Kali-yuga approached because the atmosphere which was created by Vidura, his valuable instructions on the facts of life, would fade away due to the influence of the age which was fast approaching.

To become narottama, or a first-class human being depending completely on the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, is not possible for any ordinary man. It is stated in Bhagavad-Gita (7.28) that a person who is completely relieved of all taints of sinful acts can alone depend on the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. Dhrtarastra was advised by Vidura at least to become a dhira in the beginning if it were impossible for him to become a sannyasi or a narottama. Persistently endeavoring on the line of self-realization helps a person to rise to the conditions of a narottama from the stage of a dhira. The dhira stage is attained after prolonged practice of the yoga system, but by the grace of Vidura one can attain the stage immediately simply by willing to adopt the means of the dhira stage, which is the preparatory stage for sannyasa. The sannyasa stage is the preparatory stage of paramahamsa, or the first-grade devotee of the Lord.

So, good advice coming from Narottama himself or Mahabhagavata himself or the best moralist the world has ever seen and that is Vidura here, who is none other than Yamaraja himself, who is one of the twelve bhagavatas. Dhrtarastra is certainly lucky to have Vidura as the younger brother and he is kindly giving his advice of which is,

“Go away, get out of here”
athodicim disam yatu

Which way should I go? Not just any way, my way or the high way. You go disham, in the direction of Northern direction. That is the general advice.
“Which direction to go?” “Go to the North.” There is Lord Bhadrinarayana there. On the top of the Himalayana mountain the Ganga is flowing through there, lots of caves also in that mountain. The mountain itself is,

sthavara nam himalayah

Lord says, “Of all the immovable things or objects, Himalaya, that is Myself.”

The Lord is putting some stand up. He, being sacred, very powerful, one of the vibhutis. So, there is advice and tradition of going to the North. Five pandavas, later on, this is not the time. This is the time Lord is still on the planet. Pandavas, when they received the news of Lord is no more on the planet, then they also had departed for the North.

Go to the North and how should you go?

svair ajnata-gatir bhavan

“Make sure, svair, your own people ajnata, without their knowing. bhavan yatu, you go without their knowing; knowing which way you are going or, moving without them knowing your movement, just go. And amongst other reasons for you to leave is,

ito rvak prayasah kalah

That time is approaching very fast. itah, very soon the bad times will come. Those times, that kalah is the kali kalah. And what would kali kalah do?
pumsa guna-vikarsanah

This Kali will take away gunah, or the good qualities of pumsam. Human’s good qualities will be stolen, taken away by this age of Kali. So, before that time comes you better get out of here. So, the time that Vidura is talking, advising to Dhrtarastra is happening in Hastinapur. That is the place and time wise.

Sometime after battlefield of Kurukshetra, all the sons of Dhrtarastra are no more and he is now being maintained by Pandavas. What a shameless lifestyle! Vidura knows that soon Lord will be leaving the planet and the age of Kali would commence.

yada mukundo bhagavan
ksyam tyaktva sva padam gatah

It is mentioned, yada mukunda. Mukunda, the liberator, also mentioned as bhagavana. Ksyam that is the earthly planets. Tyaktva, would give up, Lord giving up this planet and doing what?

svapadam gatah, He would go to His own pad or place, return to His own abode.

tad dinat kali ya ha taha, from that very day, the day Lord departs would be the day, the first day. Kali would begin. And what kind of Kali Yuga that would be?

sarvasa sadhana badhakam

That this Kali Yuga would do create badha, obstacles, stumbling blocks. For who? sadhakas, those who are practicing sadhana bhakti. Those sadhakas will find lots of difficulties in their practices. So, before that time comes better leave home and you will have some time to practice and prepare to return to the Lord.

The goal is always going back to Krsna. So, there has to be preparations. One of the preparations is developing detachment from the world, developing detachment from worldly affairs, developing detachment from worldly relationships. This is all that is binding, causing the conditioning; conditioned souls, conditioned, bound. Like the air conditioning, you are creating a little air conditioned within a little room.
So, the souls have become bound. They do not know where to start but it always starts from turning away from the Lord,

bhoga vancha kare

In the spirit of enjoyment, in the spirit of bhoga, bhoga vancha, and then,

nikatasta maya tare japhatya dhare

The maya is not far away. As soon as the spirit of enjoyment is there, maya, immediately, grabs him. He is captured; he is bound; conditioned. Then, he lives a conditioned life. But more,

kama kraudah parayanah asa pasa satair baddhai

Baddhai, he has become baddha, conditioned. By what? asa pasa. asa means desire; pasa means ropes. Ropes, bonds of desires. asa pasa how many? satair, hundreds of ways and means to enjoy this world. So, asa pasa satair baddhai. He becomes fully bound. And, kama kraudah parayanah
He becomes experts, parayanah, by kama and kraud. Desires, kama. And when desires are not fulfilled, which would never be fulfilled, then there is a frustration, that is, kraud. One can compensate for a life of frustration, Prabhupada is opening his purport. Life of frustration, compensate that kind of life by becoming a dhira, or leaving home for good. So, life of kama and kraud are hankering and lamentation. Hankering for this, hankering for that. Then followed by frustration, lamentation.

brahma bhuta prasanna atma na socati na kamsati

Goal is to become brahma bhuta, that is, Krsna conscious, and prasanna atma, fully satisfied, joyful atma. Na socati, not aspiring for anything mundane anymore. Because na kamsa, he does not have any mundane vanca anymore. Then he does not also lament. There is no lamentation. There is no kama so there is also no kraud.

kamat kraudho vijate

From kama comes kraud. If there is no kama, there is no kraud also. There is no anger, no frustration, no battling, no quarrel, no wars, no fighting. There is no mundane kama, mundane lust, no mundane desires. The person or a practitioner is expected to, or as he practices,

vasudeve bhagavati bhakti yoga prayojitah

Means he is practicing, he is practicing and the practice of bhakti yoga results in jayanati. Jayanati means the devotional practices, life of devotion, would lead jayanati. Jayanati means giving rise to, giving birth to. Ja means janma, birth. So, as we practice Krsna consciousness, practice sadhana, we have become sadhakas.

jayanati asu vairagyam

Vairagya is one outcome. It means detachment. Vi – raga. raga means attachment. Viraga, just the opposite of attachment, that is, detachment. Vairagya, vai, against detachment. Develop detachment as we practice Krsna consciousness. And we also become more and more knowledgeable. For that we have to hear, not sleep. There are some practices there and we become, we develop jnana and vairagya. Vairagya is the outcome, is the result, also, kind of, is reward to the person who is practicing Krsna consciousness.

In other words also, as we practice bhakti yoga, as we serve bhakti – and bhakti has two children. One child’s name is jnana. Another child is vairagya. These are bhakti’s two children, two sons : jnana and vairagya. So, as we practice bhakti, serve bhakti, then bhakti gives birth in our life. Then jnana enters our life or knowledge enters, prevails in our life. So is vairagya, detachment. If the practices are right, right conduct, right kind of practices, right kind of sadhana, right kind of prescribed sadhana, authorized, authentic sadhana bhakti, then is jnana and viragya.

tesam satata yuktanam
bhajatam prti purvakam
dadami budhi yogam tam
yena mam vayanti te [BG.10.10]

Krsna also said this. Those who serve me. How often? satat yuktanam. So, bhakti has to be satat, constantly. Like this word also, satat. How does it sound, satat? There’s no interruption, right? It’s continuous. As described, how one should perform devotional service? satat.
Yuktanam. Yukta, those who are busy, equipped, engaged. Bhajatam. One thing is constant, satat. And prti purvakam, priti also, loving devotional service, with love. Give your heart. Give yourself. Not mindless or heartless service. Then that is no service. Chanting hare krsna also. Mindless chanting. Chanting minus mind. Chanting is there but the mind is not there. Mind is elsewhere. So that is not a priti purvakam. That is not with love, devotion or dedication or absorption. So giving mind, giving heart, giving, of course, your consciousness.

mat cittah madagata pranah bhodha yantah pranas pradam

Very proudly, with great pride, the Lord said, “my devotees.” mat cittah. Ceto darpana marjatam. There is the cit there, consciousness. It is a part of our existence, of our subtle body. There’s is a mind, intelligence, your real ego, your aham. I am servant of Krsna and your citta, your consciousness. This constitutes our subtle body.

“My devotees, give all that to me!” Krsna said.

Mat citta. They are citta, consciousness. The mind is there, mind stuffs; mind matter is also included in that. cittah, the mind, the intelligence, the ego. Ego means that is us, in fact. Giving all their mat cittah, their mind, their intelligence, their consciousness, all glued to me.
madagatah pranah

Their pran, their very existence of every breaths.They remind each other, they converse, they make Me the topic and they talk about Me. They remind you of My instructions. What I am talking to you or Arjuna, devotees remind each other. You are serving, all the time you are serving. You want to? That is the point, whether you want to. We are supposed to serve all the time, not part time. Krsna consciousness is not a part time thing. It has to come to full time. “I’m very regular, I’ve been coming to the temple, you know. I’m very regular.” One person said. “I’m very regular, every Janmastami.” Isn’t this regular? “Every Janmastami, I’m there. I’m not there 364 days, but that day I’m there.” That’s pretty regular, constantly. That also could be called satat. He constantly comes. That is nice and that is the beginning. But time has to come that not once a year but every Sunday, every day, every hour, every minute, every moment, kshan.

There is a talk like that. Krsna consciousness is to be practiced. We have to come to that level and unless we come to that level there is no going back to Krsna. Or, you can come back and practice further and become perfect before you would be allowed, the soul – the gates of Vaikuntha or Goloka will be, then, opened. Not up until then. Because in Goloka, there is no part time devotee. Hundred percent of the population is hundred percent devoted and dedicated, with full devotion. No karmis there; no gyanis there; no yogis there also. Only bhakti yogis. So, karmis, jnanis,
bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakale asanta

They are still maintaining kamana, kama, some desire, some lust, some independent existence. Just to take this, to take that from the Lord and, “bye, Lord, you may leave now. You have given what I wanted. So, thank you.”

om jai jagadish hare swami jai jagadish hare
sukha sampati ghar aye kasta mite tan ka

The prayer says sukha sampati ghar aye – while worshipping You I’m leaving my doors and windows opened. Throw some sampati, some wealth and let my body gets some comfort, some relief, all glories to Jagadish.” So this is some business, some transaction. This is called karmi which is also a part of total dharma. They also have a place. Karmis,fruitive workers. They are also supposed to be religious, practicing dharma. They are gyanis, cultivating knowledge of aham bramhasmi. First, they try to enjoy Lord’s property and when that does not work out – which never works out, as we said – then for the fox the grapes are sour. Jumping, he is trying to jump to reach the grapes. As he could not reach, he goes away, “I’ve never wanted those grapes. That is so sour.” First person is karmi trying to enjoy this world this way, that way. Even becoming religious, performing yagya, demigods worship.

aham mama eti

First is mama. This is mine or I want to acquire more, make it mine. Mine is for what? For me to enjoy. My, my, my, accumulation. And when he goes through this and does not get anything out of that at the end of the road, then he goes for aham. Maya or illusion is described also in two small words. One is aham mameti. aham mama iti. iti means this much. Period. Illusion. What is illusion? What is conditioned life? aham mama iti. First, they say, “mama, mama, mine, mine.” Starting with the body and then everything else: vitta, the wealth; kshetra, the land; putra, offsprings. Like that, the list goes on.

Then when that does not work out, he goes for aham.That is jnani. Karmis and then jnanis. “I am God, I am Him.” tat tvam asi.” Tat, that, brahman. You are that, you are Him. They would not call Him because Him refer to personality. So, they say tat, om tat sat. Sticking to only tat. This is the existence. He just exist, He does not do anything, has no form or activity. He just He is. That,I am that.

bhukti mukti siddhi kami

Astha siddhis, different kinds of perfections. Becoming lighter than the lightest, the heavier than the heaviest, this, that. In the spiritual sky, in the abode of the Lord, you will not find these kind of karmis, jnanis, these kind of yogis. Only bhakti yogis. We were saying, also, there are no part time devotees or part time souls in abode of the Lord. They have done

sarva dharman parityaja
That is how they could get back home. This karmi dharma they have to give up. Jnanis dharma, give it up. Yogis dharma, give it up. We could say proudly. That is what Lord is talking when He says sarva dharman parityaja. Give up this all varieties of religion, religious pratices. Being karmi, being jnani, being yogi – give it up. So, what should I do?

mam ekam saranam vraja

Surrender unto me. Depend upon me or get fully connected with me. ma sucah, do not fear. There’s lots of talk in the purport but one talk is becoming dhira, undisturbed. It says one fully surrenders unto the Lord. One of the symptoms of surrender, what is the symptoms of surrender? One symptom is for sure Krsna will protect me. If someone wants to surrender, he has one symptom, one thought he has is, Krsna will protect me. And if one is surrendered and he knows, he is convinced Krsna will protect him. Whereas, Krsna says, “surrender unto Me. Come near. Come here, oh dear, do not fear.” If Krsna becomes our protector, any dear? Armed response. So Lord is also armed for protection of His devotees.

paritranaya sadhu nam vinashaya ca kritam

He has His Sudarshana, armed response. He has His club. He is armed with a club and His powerful arms.

pahi pahi maha yogi

Who is that? Uttara, when her son was attacked and she was praying, pahi pahi means, “please protect! Please protect!” Who should protect? She did not say, “protect, protect, oh Vamsidhara.” “You play nice flute and that is really nice. But I need protection. Your arms will protect. Your arms with Sudarshan. Your club will protect.”

And that is what also happened. Lord stepped forward that He entered the womb and Lord became tiny, thumb sized. Then you could imagine what was the size of His arms and He was holding the club, Bhagavatam says, and going round and round and round Pariksit Maharaja in the womb.

dadhami bhuddhi yogam

Lord says when you serve Me, satat yuktanam, and priti purvakam or ahaituki and apratihatam. Ahaituki, no motivation and apratihata, no interests. We have to come to that level. To that person Lord says,

dadhami buddhi yogam,

“I give the intelligence to that person and that person uses that intelligence given by Me, ena mam upayantite. Ena, by which the help of this intelligence given by Me. Mam is unto Me.”

Upayanti. It also talks of yatu here.
“You go, you go.” Yatu talk of going. “You should go, go away!” That was the advice. . Ultimately, one has to go where? Not only go away. But going away from the family and the relationships and the bonds and all this entanglement. Going away that is half of the story. That is vairagya part. Ultimately, the person had to go. “Go to Krsna. Go to Him.” Go away from where I am but that does not say where should I go. Go away from here but then, where do I end up? Where do I go? So, Lord says, “I give the intelligence.” As one practice Krsna consciousness, then jnana and vairagya is there, knowledge is there. Lord is giving intelligence and that intelligence is to be used.

Mam upayanti. Mam. “Go to Me.” Upa means near, yanti means going. “One goes near Me.” Mam upayanti. “A person comes to Me.” When I was a little boy, my mother used to bring me to the temple and asked me to pray, pray. “What should I pray for?” “That oh God, give me intelligence, God give me intelligence, pray like this.” So, I used to pray, ” God, give me intelligence, give me intelligence.” So, finally He gave me intelligence to go to Him.

When I joined Hare Krsna Movement, my mother was not happy. She was not expecting this kind of intelligence to go to God. Or, not that quickly because I was just a young boy, a young man. This was not the time. Do this and become an engineer. Do that and get all the A+, high grades, give intelligence not to go to Him. So, it was like that, mundane material intelligence and those thoughts and thinking is there. “I am because I think,” one scholar made a profound statement. Did he hear or did he said that? Anyone who thinks he is or he exists, what is the proof that he exists? Because he thinks I am because I think. The animals also think. The cats also think. So, they all are souls, they are not just bodies. That is also the idea we could say.

Ok, I think we should stop. It could go this way or that way. So, keep dwelling, contemplating, getting meanings out, food for thoughts. Getting enough food for thinking, nourishing your thoughts.

vasudeve bhagavati
nityam bhagavata sevayah
bhagavati uttama sloke
bhaktir bhavati naistiki

That is the goal of hearing and thinking. You hear and you think what you have heard about. You think and that is assimilated. As you think assimilation takes place. Not that we just heard and just stored that what we had heard. That is called accumulation. Just accumulation of all that information, knowledge. That is just the jnana part.

Jnana has to be made into vijnana, the practical application. Apply that in life. So jnana, you think before you proceed. You hear, you read or you study, you know, you know and you think, you think, you contemplate. It is called manana also.

In terms of sastras it is called manana, contemplation, reflection, dwelling in its topics or conversing, sharing, talking about what we have heard. Then, we become realised. That knowledge becomes realized knowledge. It becomes our property, not just something that is in stored.
It becomes a part of us. We become that knowledge. That is also what is called bhagavata, person bhagavata. Yamaraja is person bhagavata, maha bhagavata, grant bhagavata. They are big big names.

Srila Prabhupada maha bhagavata ki, jai!
Yamaraja maha bhagavata ki, jai!

Like that, many, many of them. Starting with Bramha, Shiva, Narada, and four Kumaras,

kapila mano prahlad janako visnu balir vaya sakir vayam

Yamaraja is talking to Yamadhutas. He said 11 names: Bramha, Shiva, four Kumaras… and at the end, he said vayam. Vayam means we. That included him and that becomes the 12th Mahajana. Vayam, we, means I am also.

dharmam tu saksad bhagavat pranitam

He is talking, “dharma is given the the Lord, and it is understood by these 12 Mahajanas or maha bhagavata. I am part of that list.”
Yamaraja has now appeared as Vidura and is giving all the advice to his brother. He has spoken a lot, in fact. There are talks with Vidura and Maitreya Muni. There are several cantos where Vidura and Maitreya Muni are talking and talking. Maha bhagavatas are talking.

bodhi yanta paras pradam

They are doing and we are benefited. Srila Vyasa Deva has taken trouble for the conversation he has complied in the Bhagavatam, which we could get to read and hear out, and be eternally benefited.

Srila Prabhupada has, further kindly, given us the purports and given the guidance to the contemporary human beings in the present day and the context and the circumstances. Now what is to be done, what is to be practice? There are different circumstances Krsna is on the planet and He may be leaving soon. So, please, hurry up before the age of Kali gets in. It has all happened. Kali Yuga is already here now. And now what is to be done? So, another set of advice, set of instructions adjusted to the present day, time, place and circumstances. Of course, although the age of Kali is condemned but there is no age like the age of Kali! Hari bol! All glories to the age of Kali!

This you will find right there in the Bhagavatam. Kali’s glories are chanted and Kali is welcomed. Kali becomes glorious. Advent of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu makes the age of Kali glorious. Lucky we are to appeared in the age of Kali, soon, after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance, just 509 years ago. Lord was just now here, 500 hundreds years ago.

When Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared and then Srila Prabhupada also appeared. He was appointed, empowered. The gift of the holy name that Lord Caitanya had brought from the spiritual sky to this world, he distributed within India. And Prabhupada said Caitanya Mahaprabhu left this task of spreading the holy name overseas, left this task to the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. That you do some home work, you need something to do. If I spread it everywhere, what will they do? Let them also do something.

The propagation of Krsna consciousness and the holy name was all over the world started by Srila Prabhupada, 50 years ago. There is the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s going overseas, going to America. This is that year grand celebration is planned in different places. You should also be celebrating that. Srila Prabhupada’s most auspicious departure and, finally, arrival in the west, in America. He started with America.
The capital of the age of Kali? New York. Devotees say the capital of the age of Kali is considered New York. So, senapati bhakta, the commander in chief of sankirtan army has met the target New York. The destination was New York. And as he arrived, he showered bombs, he attacked, bombarded New York with time bombs also. The books are time bombs. He planted bombs which would be exploding in due course of time. Washing the brains of Americans, brain washing and he exploded, showered the holy name everywhere.

Then he came with the ISKCON bullets. What are those? Gulab jamuns? Commander in chief of sankirtan. Senapati bhakta. Sena means army and pati means master, commander in chief of sankirtan army. So as he did some explosion there, he converted the hippies who became happies and with their small army he attacked more countries. He travelled 14 times around the world. Preaching is fighting. We would say he was fighting, preaching, propagating. Then

greha taka vana tako sada hari bole tako

You do not have to leave. Where would you go? Where are the forest? There are no forests. The people in the age of Kali have done deforestation. You go the the forest to find some peaceful cave or corner to practice. But if there are any forests, what are there? There are army bases. Armies are based here and there. All the missiles are ready to go. Where would you go?

Only place is left is Durr-ban (Durban) some greatest distance. You stay wherever you are. That is also the advice of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and our other acaryas. Remain at home. Vane tako, or if you are managing go into the forests, stay in the forests, travel, practice, preached, go to Vrndavana. You may do so wherever you are. If you are at home as a grhasta, you are brahmacari in the forests, one thing in common for both of them: lt is to chant the holy name of the Lord.

sukhe duhkhe bole na kovadane hari nama karo re

There will be sukha sometimes, there will be duhkh something, transcended, just keep chanting.

jivana hoila sesh na bhajile hrusikesh

Life is diminishing. You have not served the Lord of your heart. Go for, get serious, become serious, worship Hrisikesh, worship Radha radhanatha, moe seriously.

Hari bol.
Jagannatha Swami ki, jai!
Ratha yatra mahotsava ki, jai!
.
Gaura Premanande, hari hari bol.
Thank you.