From the lecture:
12-05-23 SB-01-09-14 - Seeing Material and Spiritual Perspectives of any Calamity - Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty
I am very grateful to be with all of you again in Radha gopinath temple. Thank you for coming.
Bhishma one of the great, mahajanas - means the highest authorities in understanding the truth who by there words and their lives- exemplify and personify the way in which we live in this world we see God, we see ourselves and how we see the workings of material nature. BG explains these five truths- ishvara- supreme controller- the origin of everything that exists- sanskrit word describes the Supreme controller of all controllers, cause of all causes, His form His pastimes, His Holynames and abodes are Sat cit ananda - eternal full of knowledg and full of bliss. this sat feature of the Lord is very important to understand.
the second elemnt is the jiva- mamaivamso jiva loke- eternally part an dparcel of Krishna - Lord CM in His teachings that are recorded in our scriptures- spoken to Sri Sanatana Goswami in varanasi for two months- throughout they day everyday.
KKG summarized it many chapters of CC. He built all of his teachings on a simple foundation. The very basis of the beginning of all knowledge- jivera svarupa hoya nityera Krishna das- eternal servant - this eternality is very important to understand - every jiva is eternal a dn sat cit ananda - by free will he choses rather than to serve the Lord- comes under the influence of prakriti- the third prinicple.
what is prakriti- the Lord primarily has three energy- antaranga sakti, jiva sakti and bahiranga sakti. The spiritual energy of the Lord where everything is in truth understood as sat cit ananda. Everything is fully conscious , realized of the truth of themselves, God and every living being. There is the Brahmajyoti and innumerable Vaikuntha planets within the spiritual energy. To try to understand God with our own intelligence is impossible.Innumerable planets and innumerable universes- cannot be counted. they are not in the 100, 1000s billions, there are innumerable universes and beyond the cosmic manifestation in the brahmajyoti there are innumerably more Vaikuntha planets. Goal of impersonalists is to enter into the pure energy of the Lord- no birth no suffering. The devotee their desire is to enter into Vaikuntha - to enjoy - some impersonal Mayawada philosophers challenge - what do you do in Vaikuntha - look at vishnu all day- but God is one- how wonderful it is that the Lord expands into each planet as Vishnu, Rama, Narsimha, etc and there are innumerable devotees.
This is Krishna and each one of us is eternal- we have a choice to participate in the eternal realm or in the material realm where everything is controlled by time- where everything except the soul itself- is temporary- na hanyate hanyamane sarire.Soul - no weapon can even touch the soul- if an atomic bomb drops on somebody's head ground zero it cannot put the slightest little cut on the soul because the soul is of a different nature- it does not die when the body dies.
Everything is controlled by time- destined to destroy- earth water fire air ether- all elements are composed of these 5 basic elements- then mind intelligence and ego- these three can be affected by physical circumstances but cannot be destroyed by material force- by the influence of time they change but they cannot be destroyed by material circumstances. Forever changing- every cell, atmoic particle is constantly changing that is the influence of time.
Nthe next factor of the Gita is Karma- law of action- karma action according to morality, vikarma- sinful acts we get unfavorable painful reactions, akarama- no material reaction. That means aour actions are engaged in the loving service of the Lord. How within this material existence - Bhishma is explaining the pandavas did not do karma or vikarama they did akrma they were great devotees of the Lord. Up until Krishna tricked him Maharaja Yudhishthira had never spoken a lie and even then he did not do it. think about it- how controlled was Yudhishthira- never did anything that was deliberately immoral. the reason Krishna got him to Bhishma that he took responsibility - he was taking the blame for what he did not do- it was all Duryodhana and Dhrtrashtra 's fault and here Yudhishthira Maharaja is telling all these women are widows, children are orphans, all these soldiers are wounded - all because of me so that i could become a king- he felt every citizen was his child- he was willing to give his life for an insect.thats how he ruled the world by Krishna's grace. his nephew Pariksit when he became king how he was traveling around the world to make sure that all innocent creatures were protected. He was so pure, so devoted that Krishna Himself would bow to him. He accepted him as a superior- Krishna ran messages for Yudhishthira- as his messenger taking word's to Duryodhana. bhishma is seeing Yudhishthira standing before him as he lay on a bed of arrows. Bhishma was a mahajana was looking forward to his death he understood how this world works- so many atrocities even to good people- this is what Bhishma Dev is instructing us, yudhishthira didnt do any bad karma nor did Queen kunti- whatver mistakes they made it was never with animosity to others- this is real bad karma when we have enmity in our heart when we want to cause pain and hurt to others. why they had to suffer so ad- their father died, then they were in the custody of Dhritarasthra and Duryodhana hated them and wanted them exterminaed as he saw them as athreat- he was deeply envious- why is it that envious deeply wicked people win over others, Ravan had sita for a year, Pandavas banished for 12 years, house of lac, they were fed poison, humiliated- Bhishma is looking at yudhishthira- that you didnt deserve any of this- and your sons were killed they were great devotees, Abhimanyu everyone loved him - why di he have to die- the 5 sons of Draupadi and they were all mercilessly murderede in their sleep- they didnt have a chance to fight- why Krishna loved him, the pandavas loved them- how is this happening and the suffering of subhadra- she is yoga maya spritual potency of the Lord- yet when Abhimanyu was killed she was weeping excessively. Arjuna was deeply affected. Bhishma is asking how could this happen and then he is giving the answer in the future verses " even the great philosphers, rsis cannot understand why things happen in a certain way in the material world- it is the power of time" time is Krishna's manifestation . How? within the material manifestation Time controls everything- it is the isvaras- it is an energy- if we think about it that way growing old is blissful- we are being molded by Krishna's energy- everything- the sun is rising by the power of time- the mood is waxing and waning. Is that destruction bad- it is natural.
this beautiful garland of keli kadamba flowers is so beautiful. Personally most sweet fragrance in the entire universe is the Vrindavan Kadamba flower. But even this most fragrant, indescribabl fragrance in a day or so will shrivell up and will have nothing and a new kadamba flower will grow. But in the spiritual flower- the fragrance of a kadmaba flower's fragrance is evr increasing. Because in the spiritual world the destructive debilitating influence of time does not exist- it is opp in the spiritual world- everythign is ever increasing and growing.
If the great mahajana behalf of all the Mahajanas and greatest of sages they cannot understand the inconcievable nature of material existence - dukhalaya ashasvatam- everythign is temporary. We are not taught that by developing love for Krishna, by associating with devotees that material nature changes- material nature is material nature- it cannot change. The laws of karma which we try to follow- but they are limited- they affect happiness and distress in this life- affect our next life- lower species rat or cat or this or that- whatever it may be - could be a fish at chowpatty. so many varieties of life all due to karma- however pious we are we have to suffer- that is material existence.However pious you are you have to grow old, have disease and die. govinda da swas a very very pious devotee- he wrote this prayer
e dhana youvana outra parijana govinda das abhilas re, kamal dal jala jivana talmal
everything within this material creation - our body our life, all of our relatives, skills we work so hard for, everything is like a drop of water on the leaf of a lotus- any moment can slip away. That is the nature of this world- therefore we worship Lord Hari. So important because although everything in this world is so uncertain - thi means we are pious or impious pure, neopyhte devotees or atheists, there is danger at every step in this world. what is the difference between a devotee and a non devotee- in that same situation where there is danger at every step where suffering or death can come at any moment whoever we are - specially in this fragile earth planet in kali yuga- Sat yuga there was little more certainty- kali yuga is an ocean of faults things go wild.But there is one benediction- simply chanting the names of Lord Hari Krishna we can attain the Supreme Liberation. This padam padam yat vipadam na tesam- for a devotee we are seeking the reliazation of the eternal soul and the dangers of material existence or an impetus to take shlter of Krishna to take our spiritual lives more seriously. although everything is uncertain within this material existence there is one thing that Krishna is there to reciprocate with the love of His devotees at whatever level of Krishna Consoicousness we are on- Krishna is there for us. when He says He is there for us- He is talking about our eternal souls- whatever may happen in this world- Krishna is there for us in life and death. According to what we remember at the time of death we will attain. those who are sincere to remember Krishna, to serve Krishna, to please Krishna in life we know Krishna is going to be there with them in life and whatever situation happens.
In the BG Krishna explains that their different ways of dying - auspicious and inauspicious- but hat is for people who follow karma kanda- for devotees it does not matter how it happens, when it happens. where it happens- for a devotee Krishna is always there- for a devotee life and death are all auspicious- all auspicious does not mean that the body is in a pleasing situation, all auspicious means that the soul is being connected with Krishna- the soul is being blessed wth its eternal nature once again- it is being uplifted. Krishna promises- SP promised us if we are just sincere about our Krishna Consciousness- Krishna will be there in our life and Krishna will be there in our inevitable death.
So therefore, when sincere loving devotees and even those who are near and dear to sincere loving devotees- we should know that when they pass from this world from a spiritual perspective it is a glorious celebration because Krishna is there with them. That is Krishna's love and compassion - He will neever let any devotee's atma be lost if it turns towards Him. Srivas - his son died - Lord CM brought him to life- and he instructed everyone - I am the eternal soul- the bodies are coming and going but one thing is for sure that those who chant your names with loving devotion will come to you
12-05-23 SB-01-09-14 - Seeing Material and Spiritual Perspectives of any Calamity - Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty I am very grateful to be with all of you again in Radha gopinath temple. Thank you for coming.
Bhishma one of the great, mahajanas - means the highest authorities in understanding the truth who by there words and their lives- exemplify and personify the way in which we live in this world we see God, we see ourselves and how we see the workings of material nature. BG explains these five truths- ishvara- supreme controller- the origin of everything that exists- sanskrit word describes the Supreme controller of all controllers, cause of all causes, His form His pastimes, His Holynames and abodes are Sat cit ananda - eternal full of knowledg and full of bliss. this sat feature of the Lord is very important to understand.
the second elemnt is the jiva- mamaivamso jiva loke- eternally part an dparcel of Krishna - Lord CM in His teachings that are recorded in our scriptures- spoken to Sri Sanatana Goswami in varanasi for two months- throughout they day everyday.
KKG summarized it many chapters of CC. He built all of his teachings on a simple foundation. The very basis of the beginning of all knowledge- jivera svarupa hoya nityera Krishna das- eternal servant - this eternality is very important to understand - every jiva is eternal a dn sat cit ananda - by free will he choses rather than to serve the Lord- comes under the influence of prakriti- the third prinicple.
what is prakriti- the Lord primarily has three energy- antaranga sakti, jiva sakti and bahiranga sakti. The spiritual energy of the Lord where everything is in truth understood as sat cit ananda. Everything is fully conscious , realized of the truth of themselves, God and every living being. There is the Brahmajyoti and innumerable Vaikuntha planets within the spiritual energy. To try to understand God with our own intelligence is impossible.Innumerable planets and innumerable universes- cannot be counted. they are not in the 100, 1000s billions, there are innumerable universes and beyond the cosmic manifestation in the brahmajyoti there are innumerably more Vaikuntha planets. Goal of impersonalists is to enter into the pure energy of the Lord- no birth no suffering. The devotee their desire is to enter into Vaikuntha - to enjoy - some impersonal Mayawada philosophers challenge - what do you do in Vaikuntha - look at vishnu all day- but God is one- how wonderful it is that the Lord expands into each planet as Vishnu, Rama, Narsimha, etc and there are innumerable devotees.
This is Krishna and each one of us is eternal- we have a choice to participate in the eternal realm or in the material realm where everything is controlled by time- where everything except the soul itself- is temporary- na hanyate hanyamane sarire.Soul - no weapon can even touch the soul- if an atomic bomb drops on somebody's head ground zero it cannot put the slightest little cut on the soul because the soul is of a different nature- it does not die when the body dies.
Everything is controlled by time- destined to destroy- earth water fire air ether- all elements are composed of these 5 basic elements- then mind intelligence and ego- these three can be affected by physical circumstances but cannot be destroyed by material force- by the influence of time they change but they cannot be destroyed by material circumstances. Forever changing- every cell, atmoic particle is constantly changing that is the influence of time.
Nthe next factor of the Gita is Karma- law of action- karma action according to morality, vikarma- sinful acts we get unfavorable painful reactions, akarama- no material reaction. That means aour actions are engaged in the loving service of the Lord. How within this material existence - Bhishma is explaining the pandavas did not do karma or vikarama they did akrma they were great devotees of the Lord. Up until Krishna tricked him Maharaja Yudhishthira had never spoken a lie and even then he did not do it. think about it- how controlled was Yudhishthira- never did anything that was deliberately immoral. the reason Krishna got him to Bhishma that he took responsibility - he was taking the blame for what he did not do- it was all Duryodhana and Dhrtrashtra 's fault and here Yudhishthira Maharaja is telling all these women are widows, children are orphans, all these soldiers are wounded - all because of me so that i could become a king- he felt every citizen was his child- he was willing to give his life for an insect.thats how he ruled the world by Krishna's grace. his nephew Pariksit when he became king how he was traveling around the world to make sure that all innocent creatures were protected. He was so pure, so devoted that Krishna Himself would bow to him. He accepted him as a superior- Krishna ran messages for Yudhishthira- as his messenger taking word's to Duryodhana. bhishma is seeing Yudhishthira standing before him as he lay on a bed of arrows. Bhishma was a mahajana was looking forward to his death he understood how this world works- so many atrocities even to good people- this is what Bhishma Dev is instructing us, yudhishthira didnt do any bad karma nor did Queen kunti- whatver mistakes they made it was never with animosity to others- this is real bad karma when we have enmity in our heart when we want to cause pain and hurt to others. why they had to suffer so ad- their father died, then they were in the custody of Dhritarasthra and Duryodhana hated them and wanted them exterminaed as he saw them as athreat- he was deeply envious- why is it that envious deeply wicked people win over others, Ravan had sita for a year, Pandavas banished for 12 years, house of lac, they were fed poison, humiliated- Bhishma is looking at yudhishthira- that you didnt deserve any of this- and your sons were killed they were great devotees, Abhimanyu everyone loved him - why di he have to die- the 5 sons of Draupadi and they were all mercilessly murderede in their sleep- they didnt have a chance to fight- why Krishna loved him, the pandavas loved them- how is this happening and the suffering of subhadra- she is yoga maya spritual potency of the Lord- yet when Abhimanyu was killed she was weeping excessively. Arjuna was deeply affected. Bhishma is asking how could this happen and then he is giving the answer in the future verses " even the great philosphers, rsis cannot understand why things happen in a certain way in the material world- it is the power of time" time is Krishna's manifestation . How? within the material manifestation Time controls everything- it is the isvaras- it is an energy- if we think about it that way growing old is blissful- we are being molded by Krishna's energy- everything- the sun is rising by the power of time- the mood is waxing and waning. Is that destruction bad- it is natural.
this beautiful garland of keli kadamba flowers is so beautiful. Personally most sweet fragrance in the entire universe is the Vrindavan Kadamba flower. But even this most fragrant, indescribabl fragrance in a day or so will shrivell up and will have nothing and a new kadamba flower will grow. But in the spiritual flower- the fragrance of a kadmaba flower's fragrance is evr increasing. Because in the spiritual world the destructive debilitating influence of time does not exist- it is opp in the spiritual world- everythign is ever increasing and growing.
If the great mahajana behalf of all the Mahajanas and greatest of sages they cannot understand the inconcievable nature of material existence - dukhalaya ashasvatam- everythign is temporary. We are not taught that by developing love for Krishna, by associating with devotees that material nature changes- material nature is material nature- it cannot change. The laws of karma which we try to follow- but they are limited- they affect happiness and distress in this life- affect our next life- lower species rat or cat or this or that- whatever it may be - could be a fish at chowpatty. so many varieties of life all due to karma- however pious we are we have to suffer- that is material existence.However pious you are you have to grow old, have disease and die. govinda da swas a very very pious devotee- he wrote this prayer
e dhana youvana outra parijana govinda das abhilas re, kamal dal jala jivana talmal
everything within this material creation - our body our life, all of our relatives, skills we work so hard for, everything is like a drop of water on the leaf of a lotus- any moment can slip away. That is the nature of this world- therefore we worship Lord Hari. So important because although everything in this world is so uncertain - thi means we are pious or impious pure, neopyhte devotees or atheists, there is danger at every step in this world. what is the difference between a devotee and a non devotee- in that same situation where there is danger at every step where suffering or death can come at any moment whoever we are - specially in this fragile earth planet in kali yuga- Sat yuga there was little more certainty- kali yuga is an ocean of faults things go wild.But there is one benediction- simply chanting the names of Lord Hari Krishna we can attain the Supreme Liberation. This padam padam yat vipadam na tesam- for a devotee we are seeking the reliazation of the eternal soul and the dangers of material existence or an impetus to take shlter of Krishna to take our spiritual lives more seriously. although everything is uncertain within this material existence there is one thing that Krishna is there to reciprocate with the love of His devotees at whatever level of Krishna Consoicousness we are on- Krishna is there for us. when He says He is there for us- He is talking about our eternal souls- whatever may happen in this world- Krishna is there for us in life and death. According to what we remember at the time of death we will attain. those who are sincere to remember Krishna, to serve Krishna, to please Krishna in life we know Krishna is going to be there with them in life and whatever situation happens.
In the BG Krishna explains that their different ways of dying - auspicious and inauspicious- but hat is for people who follow karma kanda- for devotees it does not matter how it happens, when it happens. where it happens- for a devotee Krishna is always there- for a devotee life and death are all auspicious- all auspicious does not mean that the body is in a pleasing situation, all auspicious means that the soul is being connected with Krishna- the soul is being blessed wth its eternal nature once again- it is being uplifted. Krishna promises- SP promised us if we are just sincere about our Krishna Consciousness- Krishna will be there in our life and Krishna will be there in our inevitable death.
So therefore, when sincere loving devotees and even those who are near and dear to sincere loving devotees- we should know that when they pass from this world from a spiritual perspective it is a glorious celebration because Krishna is there with them. That is Krishna's love and compassion - He will neever let any devotee's atma be lost if it turns towards Him. Srivas - his son died - Lord CM brought him to life- and he instructed everyone - I am the eternal soul- the bodies are coming and going but one thing is for sure that those who chant your names with loving devotion will come to you
