Vastraharana Lila. Part 1
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Zurich · 2023
Chapters
Invocation prayers and introductory remarks
Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. su devaya, Ohnamo Bhavate su Deva sudeva, Jan Madhyasyatun vajachatesva bigya, Swarateni Brahmahridaya Dikay Muchanyatsuraya,
Teowarimridam Yatavini Mayo Yat Ratrisarga Rish, Dhamnas Vina Sadhani Rastakuhakam, Satyam paramdi, satyam paramdimhi, sattyam paramhi, Yampra Janamta Manopetpeta, Kritam Dwaipa no vi raha
katara Jugava Putreitian Mayatayo Taraw Vinedus, tam Sarva Babuta Hridayamuni Tosmi Narayan Namaskritiana Ramchay Manarotamam Deim Saraswatim Vyasam Tato Jaya Mudira, nashta prayeswa Badrisunityam Bhagavata sevaya
bhagavaty dama sloki bhakti bhavatina stiki. Hare Krishna. So I'm very happy to be with all of you. I'll speak in English according to the previous agreement. And we'll have a little seminar this evening, tomorrow
evening, and then I believe on Friday or evening. And I will read something from the 20, some verses from the 22nd chapter of the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, which is called Krishna Steals the Gopis garments.
It's a very famous Lila, and oftentimes you see the pictures of Krishna sitting on the tree and around him, all the colorful saris of the gopis, and gopis are standing naked. And this Lila is greatly misunderstood and
somewhat yeah. So I'll try to speak about this controversial deela. In fact, Namsankirtan Prabhu told me that once he came to an artist who was depicting this Lila.
And because he's a Brahmacharya, he just couldn't s couldn't look at this picture because it was too much for him. All the snaked women are standing there in
uh in the water and Krishna smiling and looking at them with great interest. So So anyway we'll we'll talk about this definitely very juicy subject matter and try to shed some light according to the explanation And
um yeah, in the beginning we'll chant the first verse of this chapter now and then I will give uh little uh introduction to the whole thing, why it is necessary to uh meditate on such
lilas and uh what does it mean for us uh neophytes and devotional
Recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam verse
service. Anyway, Sri Sukovatya Sri Sukratame Prathame. Hemante Prathame, Prathamasi, Nandavraja Kumarika, Nandavraja Kumarika, Nandavraja Kumarika, nandava ja kumarika, chirurghavisham Bundjanaha, Chirurhavisham
Bundana, Cherurhavisham, Chirhavisham, Katyana Archana Vratam, Vatyanachamavram, Katyana Archanavatam, Katyanyarcham, Sisukovach,
Sisukavacha, Hemante Prathamasi, Pram Nandavraja Kumarika, Chirurhavisham Bunjaha, Cerugavisham Bunja Katyayanyarchanavratam, Katyanacham, Srisukhacha, Srisukamacha, Sri Sukha Śrīla Gurudeva said.
During the winter Prathame in the first Maasi Manth Nandavraja of the Kowhart village of Nandamaraja village of Nandamaraja Kumarikaha than married young girls.
Cheruhu performed Havisham Unseasoned kichrizzed kichrianaha subsisting on katyani of the goddess Katyani Archanavratamratam the vow of worship. Translation.
Sukadeva Gaswami said, during the first months of the winter season, the young unmarried girls of Gokula observed the vow of worshipping goddess Katyani. For the entire months they ate only unspiced kichiri.
The word hemante refers to the months of Margashira. From a From approximately the middle of November to the middle of December.
According to the Western calendar, according to Western calendar, to the Western calendar, in the volume 1, chapter 22 of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Prabhupāda commends that the Gopis first ate Havishana, a kind of food prepared by boiling together mang dal and rice without any spices or turmeric.
According to Vedic injunction, this kind of food is recommended to purify the body before one enacts a ritualistic ceremony. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!
Hemante Prathame Mashishuku vacha hemante Prathame Vraja Kumarikaha, Cirur Havisham Bunjanaha Katyayany Archana Vratham.
Sukadeva Gaswami said during the first months of the winter season the young unmarried girls of Gokula observed the vow of worshipping goddess Katiani for the entire months they ate only unspiced kitsri.
Namam Vishnu Padaya Krishna Prashtaya Bhutale Srimate Bhaktivedanta Swaminitinamine Namaste Sara Swati Devi Gurawani Pracharine, Nirvisha Sunya, Paschatades, Vanchakalpataru Besha Kripa Sindhu Vacha, Pattitana Pavane Biovaisnavy Namon Maha, Jai Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhunityananda, Sri Advaita Gadathara Sivasa Dura Bhakta Vrinda.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama
Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Ramaam Rri
Importance of the Tenth Canto
Nama Sri Stammanamapisa Chiputramarupam Rupam kasyakra já mu rupurimadhuriam ghostava radakundiri Vara, Mahu, Radika Ma Dava Sam, Prahto Yasia, Prahthi Kripaya Shi Guru Tamna Tosmi, Yandah pra visia Mamavach, Mampra Sukam, Sandi Vaya Da Kila Shakti Darah, Swadamnanyam Shah Stucharna, Sravanatu Gadim Pranan Mobhavate, Puru Shay Tub, Swash, Calah, Prasiddaam, Dean Du Bhutani, Shivam Mitubiya, Mana Shabad So
we are reading the tenth skant of Shrimad Bhagavatam, which is the crown jewel of all the Vedic literature.
The tenth Kanto of Simad Bhagavatam is approximately one-third of whole Shimad Bhagavad, and by far it's the most important, most poetic and most beautiful, and most philosophically laden part of the entire Shimad Bhagavatam.
So the whole Shimad Bhagavatam is created for us according to the first verse of Srimad Bhagavatam to facilitate our meditation on the Supreme Truth, Supreme Absolute Truth, Satyam Param Dhi Mahi, Srivav Yasadev, in the first verse of Srimad Bhagavatam, he says, let us meditate on this Supreme Absolute Truth.
And this meditation on the Supreme Absolute Truth is the way of salvation.
We all to a certain extent, to a different extent, to different clarity, Understand the need of salvation, the need of getting free from this endless repetition of births and death.
Of course, those people who don't believe in reincarnation don't want to get free from the repetition of birth and death, because according to them there's no repetition of person death.
But even they, somehow or other, they have this notion of salvation: that something is wrong with this sort of existence which is given to us, and some other existence is actually worthy of us. Or we are worthy of this other existence.
This existence which we are leading is not really a noble existence. It's something which is very denigrating and very humiliating.
It is humiliating because we are so utterly dependent on this body, and we know what this body means. You know, I will not spoil your mood by describing the items of this material body.
But it's quite humiliating if we honestly and dispassionately look at the material existence. It's not a very noble thing to lead material life. But still, we are very attached to this material life.
Despite this idea that we need some other way of existence and despite this notion or intuition that some other way of existence does exist,
Material attachment and self-centered drama
still we are very miserably attached to this to this way of living, to this environment. And there is a very important reason for this. And the reason is that here we play the main role.
We are the main hero or heroine of the drama of our life. And we don't want to become somebody who is playing some secondary roles. After all, who wants to play secondary roles? Nobody wants to play secondary roles.
Everyone wants to be the main hero. So the drama of our life is very how to say this, very absorbing.
It really sucks out, sucks in our consciousness due to this excitement of being the hero and making the great decisions and doing this and experiencing some adventures.
You know, people just to experience some adventures, they do such stupid things.
Like recently, this people who went to see the Titanic who went deep down for 3800 meters just to see some you know rotten rosted iron remains of this Titanic. What's the point?
The point is that, you know, I'm the hero, I'm the adventurer, I am doing this, and this is a very interesting thing which I'm doing.
When nothing happens, then people they create some adventures to themselves and imagine that they're so great.
So that's why because this līlā which we are playing is very absorbing, the līlā of Krishna in comparison is quite pale because he's the main hero, there it's his līlā and I have my līlā here.
And my Lila is well it may be not such a successful līlā as Krishna's one, but still quite quite interesting.
So this and when people are bored with their really petty and stupid līlā, they open some mundane literature and they read about some mundane heroes and heroines and they completely identify with the heroes of these novels.
And that's why, you know, and uh and they actually we're not living one life, even within this one life, we are living many, many lives according to the number of books which we read, and according to the number of affairs which we had in these books vicariously.
But it actually doesn't matter because anything which we experience, we experience in the mind. And it doesn't really matter whether we experience it in the quote-unquote real reality or in the virtuous reality.
It's ultimately because everything is there in the mind. And because the scale of emotions which are there when we are playing the main role. We are very much absorbed into this sort of creation.
And it's a little difficult for us to concentrate on Krishna's līlā.
Identifying with devotees in scripture
And therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī he created this Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Vyāsadeva created this beautiful Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, of course, recited it with so much emotions, invested into his recitation to help us to, facilitate us to completely turn our meditation 180 degrees, to help us to meditate on Krishna instead of meditating on ourselves.
But even in this case, the most important thing for reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for studying of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to be successful. It's very important to learn how to identify ourselves
with the heroes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
This subtle identification with the different heroes or different personages from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is very important, and therefore, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is one Krishna, and there are so many devotees with whom we can identify.
And this subtle process of identification gradually helps us to purify our consciousness, to purify our chitta, to purify our heart. To the extent that the reflection of Krishna's līlā will take place within our heart.
Now our heart is very dirty. And therefore, it can only reflect something which is very gross. You know, like people who are not very subtle. And you know, nowadays we are living in Kali Yuga.
And in Kali Yuga, people progressively and very rapidly become grosser, grosser and grosser. And therefore they're going to groceries. They become more and more gross.
They more and more identify themselves as a very gross kind of emotions and therefore uh uh even the taste of people over the years, uh over the known to us history uh is becoming grosser and grosser and grosser.
Nowadays you know to get some emotions you need heavy metal music you know which would penetrate your heavy layer of ignorance. You know, something Mozart will not do.
No chance for him to penetrate through this thick layer of avidyā. You know, you did something that some sort of emotional response can be expected. Otherwise, you know, yeah you're bored.
So uh so that's what we have and um and therefore it's not so easy what I mean to say is that to learn
to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to reach Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in such a way that this identification process will take place is difficult for us because it's difficult for us to relate to these sentiments due
to our engrossment into the matter. The sentiments, the bhāvas, the emotions which are described in Śrīmad Bhagavatam are too subtle for us to resonate with our heart. They are not really invoking any emotional response.
We cannot relate to them. They are too, you know, too foreign, you know, you know, especially,
you know when we read Caitanya-caritāmṛta Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he came to show us how to practice devotional service in a real way.
And you know, of course, his practice of devotional service is just to cry day and night. And we read it and we can't figure out why he is so crying so much? What's the reason? There's not substantial reason, you know.
Why doesn't he be happy? You know, there's uh after all Prasadam is there, you know, what else does he need? So So therefore uh for us to learn how to meditate it's a process and it's not an easy process.
Uh it's a gradual process and therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Upadeśāmṛta says, That's the essence of all advice. And at the end, when we realize this most important advice of the whole Vedic literature.
We will be able to reflect the feelings of the eternal associates of the Lord. We will be able to really follow their footsteps.
But that's not an easy achievement. It's not, we shouldn't take it cheaply, you know, tiṣṭhan vraje, you know, that we always live in this celestial bridge which is full of love and full of wonderful associates.
So, what is most important is that and therefore, uh, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says here, krameṇa. Kramena means step by step. Ultimately, we should come to this stage of being able to meditate on Krishna Lila kalamnayat all the time, 24 hours a day.
Five stages of meditation in Bhakti
But before we come to this stage, you know there are some uh intermediary uh intermediary stages which we have to pass and we have to know all these stages and how to pass them, and uh, we have to know the dynamic of the process.
So therefore, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains in his Bhakti-sandarbha the stages of meditation. Ultimately, yes, Satyam Param Dimahi let us meditate on the absolute truth.
But what does it mean to meditate on the absolute truth? And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, he divides this meditation into five stages. And the first stage of meditation is accessible to us. That's what we do all the time.
And the first stage of meditation is called smaranam. But smaranam, we have to really understand what smaranam means.
We often translate smaranam as remembering, but there is a very specific process which is called smaranam. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says, smaraṇa means kiñcit-anu-sandhānam. It means that we retrieve from our memory,
from our chitta, some object which is stored there as a samskara, some memory of our past experience. It's very important that we can only do smaraṇa of something which we experienced.
We cannot really do smaranam about Krishna because we didn't experience Krishna yet.
We can only remember something which has taken place with us, you know which took place with us, which happened with us, and which is stored within our memory.
So the process of smaraṇa, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī very beautifully, very succinctly but at the same time very beautifully explains.
Kiñcit-anu-sandhānam means that some memory of the past event or of past experience, something which you ate, smelt, or you know, some person whom you met in the past, his image surfaces within your conscious mind. All the memories are stored within your subconsciousness.
But then you can retrieve the memories of it with the help of buddhi, by some conscious endeavors, or it automatically comes to your mind. You know, some experience which you had.
And Kinchitanu Sandanam means for some little time you investigate this particular image which is there in the mind. And then, you know, your mind is very restless. I mean, it's not your mind, my mind is very restless.
Your mind is of course very cool and meditative, but anyway, so the mind is quite restless and therefore Kinchita anusandhanam.
Kinchita nusandanam means that you just you know look at this subject which is there for some time, for a short while, and then you change it and some other picture comes into your mind.
It's exactly like browsing on the internet. You know, you you get something, you read it a little bit, okay, okay, okay. Later I will read it.
And let's read something else, and then kinchit anusandanam. Anusandhanam means searching or investigating.
Investigating but investigating little bit without any concentration by quickly changing the subject on the subject. You just just you're doing it. Of course, sometimes you may remember
something for a longer period of time, but that only happens please it's very important it only happens when this memory is associated with very strong emotion.
If the emotional energy is stored with this remembrance, then you can dwell on this with your mind for a longer time. Especially if it's negative emotion.
If an image of your enemy surfaces in your mind, you can meditate on him or her for a long time. And it will be a very elaborate meditation. You almost will go into samadhi by thinking about him.
But so this emotion, the connection between the memory and emotion is very important for successful meditation and therefore Kirtan is so nice because Kirtan is coupling the name with the emotions.
But not just saying Hare Krishna Krishna but saying Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Krishna. Yeah, something like this. We are investing emotions into this and therefore it's easier to concentrate.
So this is the first stage of meditation, which is called remembrance, which is called smaranam. And which we know, which we experience. The next stage of meditation is called dharana.
And dharana, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives the definition of dharana sarvataha cittam akrisya samanya akarena manodharanam dharana.
The ability of uh keeping the mind, manodharana, when you uh keep your mind or when you uh stabilize stabilize your mind uh uh by distracting it from some other objects on one particular object.
You want to meditate on something, you consciously reject all other objects, and for some time you maintain this object within your memory, but samanya karena, this is the most important feature of this stage of meditation. Samanya Karena means you can only remember about it in a very general way.
In Smaranam, the image flashes into your mind without any details for a short while.
On the stage of dharana, you are capable of retaining the object of your meditation for some time, but still your memory of this object is very vague. It's not distinct. It's general. Therefore, it's called samanya karena.
The akhar, the form of your meditation is samanya, it's schematic, it's not really detailed and full-fledged image within your mind. And then the next stage is called dhyana vishesataha rupadhi vichintanam dhyanam.
It's the same as dharana, it takes place for a longer time. Precisely it's 12 times longer than dharana. Dharana, if you are capable of keeping your mind within 11 or 12 seconds.
If you're capable of if you're mahayogi and if you are capable of meditating on just one subject matter for two minutes and forty seconds you are you are almost in the spiritual world. But that's not the main difference.
The main difference is not the the length of the time, it's not the uh you know the the time. The main difference is Visheshahata Rupadi Vichintanam.
You are capable of seeing the object of your meditation Visheshataha in a very specific way, in all the details.
Like you know, we come to the deities and we're supposed to meditate for a short while we meditate and then we turn away from them and uh you know we're meditating on something else. And we don't really remember all the details.
But when the very detailed picture with not only Rupa, guna and Namaguna.
You know much more vivid uh image comes into your mind and you still investigate this image. You still consider this image and you still uh concentrate it on this image, this is called dhyana meditation.
This is the real meditation. So the real meditation is this ability to penetrate into the object of meditation in a deeper way.
When you really understand the beauty of this object of meditation, and of course we are talking about Krishna and his Leela. And then this is the third stage, the fourth stage is called Dhruvānusmṛti.
And Dhruvānusmṛti basically means that the image which you have all of a sudden starts moving. You see the movie within your mind. Because first you saw all the details.
You know, like Namsan Kirtan told me the story how he came to this artist who was doing this picture on Vastraharana Leela.
And this artist with great enthusiasm started explaining that in Anandavrindavan Champu this detail is there and in Gopal Champu this detail is there and here it is in my painting.
If just you know in a skraw some little sketch that's dharana but dhyana means
that in all the details in all the minute details you see this picture which is described by our Acharyas within your mind, which you got from some elevated devotee who is describing this Leela.
But then on this stage of Dhruvānusmṛti, you can see that it's moving. It's not the static picture anymore.
Because Dhruva means anusmṛti means the smaraṇaṁ which is dhruva means very stable and very thick like the flow of oil. What we are taking oil and the oil is moving in a very graceful and a very stable way.
If we try to pour out water, then the water will be splashing all the time, but the oil will go slowly.
So the same thing, you know, all of a sudden you see that this picture, your meditation is becoming alive, and something is happening there.
So it's basically what again Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains: there are two forms of meditation. One is mantramayupasana when you see the static picture.
When you meditate on a picture and you try to see all the details of this picture. But then when this picture becomes vivid and becomes alive, then it becomes Swarasika Mayupasana.
That's a very elevated stage of meditation. And actually, this is according to Upanishads, that's the stage when we get salvation. Because only on this stage our remembrance of the material world is completely slackened.
Before that, we still have some very strong pulling forces which are pulling us back. You know, we meditate on Krishna and yes, yeah, for some time, and then you know, some other meditation is pulling us back.
Because there is a lot of memories within our mind and they all emotionally charged and therefore this struggle is going on.
We're trying to concentrate on the Holy Name Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare Ram. But for how long? You know, for how long?
This of course this is totally uninterrupted meditation, you know, at least for a split second it's uninterrupted, but then it becomes interrupted. You know, it's uh we know it's difficult because of these pulling forces.
And uh you know ultimately uh the next stage is called samadhi. And samadhi means the natural spontaneous appearance of the object of your meditation within your mind without any of your conscious endeavors.
Before that, you needed to concentrate your mind to kind of invoke the object of your meditation from the memory to meditate, but on the stage of samadhi there's no problem, it's just going on all the time.
You're doing something automatically, you're living this life, you're doing something, you're maybe distributing books, but uh in the mind you are tiṣṭhan-mayi tad-anurāgī-jana-anugāmī. You are anurāgī-jana. Anugāmī. You are the follower of the Anuragi Jana of the devotee who has some attachment to Krishna.
Sequential growth from name to pastimes
So, why do I speak about this? Because what I want to say is that first of all, sometimes people prematurely try to engage in smaranam without understanding what smaranam is.
They're trying to meditate on Krishna even though they don't have any experience on meditation and therefore they're not meditating on Krishna. They're meditating on a cartoon about Krishna.
That's why Srila Prabhupada was very much against cartoons on the topic of Krishna. They're not really, they don't really know what is Krishna, they only know some caricature of Krishna or some sketch of Krishna.
And so that's not the way. The way is to chant the holy name and within the holy name everything contains there. If the holy name has become the real object of our meditation,
then after the name Rupa comes after Rupa, Guna comes after guṇa, parikar comes, after parikar, līlā comes.
So that's there is a kram, there is a sequence which is very important, which which should not be broken, which should not be violated if we want to really achieve something in this meditation process.
And it's very interesting also that Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī who explains and basically not explains, he invites us into this process very insistently, invites us into this process, but he warns us.
He says that, you know, he says very important and very, very sad thing. He said that you cannot achieve prema within [one] lifetime. Why?
We should understand, of course sometimes people say no, Prabhupāda said we can, therefore we could. It's not a problem, you know, if you could, no problem. But Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says normally it doesn't happen.
So of course we are abnormal, therefore we are eligible to achieve some abnormal results as well. But uh we have to understand the scientific reason why.
It's very important because again it's about the transformation of our heart
and the transformation of our heart means the accumulation of certain some saṁskāras, certain impressions within our heart. And spiritual impressions.
And not only accumulating spiritual impressions, but making these saṁskāras, these spiritual impressions very strong.
Because achieving prema means achieving such a stage when Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī specifically says that your spiritual saṁskāras from previous life when they're coupling with the spiritual experience of this life when uh the experiences spiritual experience of this life is uh coupled or is conjunct with the spiritual experience of the previous life, then only the experience becomes so strong and overwhelming that it reaches the stage of prema.
That it becomes rasa, it becomes very pleasurable. Within one lifetime, you can achieve bhava. Bhava you are eligible to achieve.
If you practice sādhana-bhakti, you can achieve bhāva, but then bhāva will be stored within your mind, within your subconsciousness.
And then in the next life, when you again achieve some emotional experiences, then together they will create a very strong response.
Spiritual impressions across multiple lifetimes
Like you know, it's to give a mundane example of this: when we experience something for the first time, it may be very strong experience, still it's not so overwhelming.
But when similar experience comes next time, specifically I mean the you know relationship between young boys and young girls.
When we experience something for the first time it leaves deep impression, but it's not so deep. But when similar experience comes and when it's overlaid with the previous experience, then it becomes totally overwhelming.
That's why oftentimes people you know they get their first love in you know high school and then 30 years later after five marriages they they somehow rather remember about their first love and oh yeah, that was the best one.
There was nothing special about it, it's just a play of the mind. This is how it works. And that's exactly what Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also explains in the dynamic of spiritual experience.
To experience rasa, you have to have already some past experience,
some pūrva experience and prākaṭa prākaṭam and then Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says prākaṭān adhunīki ca asti yasya sad-bhakti-vāsanā. If sad-bhakti-vāsanā, the impressions was deep impressions of sad-bhakti of real bhakti. If adhunīki and prākaṭānī, if the modern the of the present
lifetime experience coupled with prākaṭānī with the previous experience, pūrva experience, then bhakti-rasāsvāda. Bhakti becomes very pleasurable. Bhakti becomes overwhelmingly strong emotional experience.
So, and therefore, this is the next part of my description therefore such
gosvāmī actually explains that first we have to go through these nine cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nine cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are necessary for preliminary purification of the heart.
If we study nine cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we will resolve so many problems and so many contradictions which are there within our heart. The past experiences which we had created some anarthas within our heart.
And the first nine cantos are about this: how to untie all these knots which are there within our consciousness. And each knot in our subconsciousness has some energy, emotional energy within it.
So actually even studying these nine cantos is a very important emotional experience, but it's a preparation for the ninth canto. And in the ninth for the tenth canto.
And in the 10th canto, we already are capable of reflecting the emotions of the eternal associates of the Lord. Not before that. The heart has to be sufficiently clean from anarthas before we will be able to feel the subtle feelings of the highly elevated pure devotees.
Their emotional experience is not really so accessible to us.
For that, there should be the cleansing of the heart which takes place, uh, while we are chanting the holy name Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Rama, so we reach
on the stage, we reach the stage of niṣṭhā, and then some sort of form and qualities of the Lord are reflected in it.
And actually Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains: tānāma uttama-ślokasya guṇaiśvarya-mādhurya-saundaryādīny api upalabhāyate.
The name, the experience of the name, the real experience of the real name, or at least nāma-bhāsa, at least the dim reflection of the name can give the experience of qualities of the Lord, guṇas of the Lord, together with aiśvarya, mādhurya and saundarya, with His grandeur, with His opulence, with His sweetness and with His beauty.
So, this is what is within the name. Before trying to jump into the higher stages of meditation, please — and that's the message of all our acharyas. Try to concentrate on the Holy Name again and again and again.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare, Hare Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
So at one point this holy name will appear as a form of Krishna together with aiśvarya, mādhurya and saundarya, His opulence, His sweetness and His beauty. That's on the stage of रुचि.
On the stage of niṣṭhā, you get some initial reflection of the form of the Lord with some of His qualities. On the stage of रुचि, you get His elevated qualities of mādhurya and saundarya.
On the stage of niṣṭhā, you may get opulent, majestic qualities of the Lord which are more visible and more accessible. We can understand that God is all-pervading. We can feel He is present within my heart.
We can feel that He is there. You know, His presence will be much more tangible than it is now. We can even interact with Him, but on a certain level.
Then on the stage of रुचि, mādhurya and saundarya will be revealed to us. And then, then mantra-māyī upāsanā and svarūpānugā upāsanā will come.
Purpose of reading the Tenth Canto
So actually now I come to the real point. Why do we read Tenth Canto? Are we eligible to read Tenth Canto? And what is the use for us to read Tenth Canto?
The point what I'm trying to make here is that if we go through Tenth Canto, if our heart is sufficiently clean, then while reading the 10th Kanto, our heart will be able to reflect the emotions of the eternal Parikars.
And while reading this, for example, this chapter, we will really feel the trembling of our heart by experiencing the same emotions which the young gopis of Vṛndāvana are experiencing.
You know, we will we will really experience the shyness and eagerness and all kinds of different different mixtures of emotions.
But you know now we are more suitable to experience some rock music and therefore, this music is little far away from us. So why do we read it?
What is there for us for on a certain level of spiritual development? It's clear what it is.
On an elevated level of spiritual experience, reading of the 10th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the nourishment of our initially sprouting emotions.
Like even now sometimes we feel some emotions, you know, some tears may, you know, glide little bit by little, you know, now cheeks.
And we want to take this little tear and keep it as a proof of my elevated status in devotional service.
And you know, unfortunately it evaporates very quickly otherwise we would so uh uh so you know if if you experience little sprouts of emotion, they can be nourished by the descriptions of the pastimes of the Tenth Canto.
But on our level, still it's very much recommendable to read the 10th canto. Even though we may not be able to nourish our emotions because there is nothing to nourish yet.
But nevertheless, we will understand a certain dynamic of spiritual development.
And that's exactly what Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains when he says that pastimes of Krishna depicted in the 10th canto, especially his childhood pastimes, is the symbolic description of anarthas, and just by reading these past times, our heart will be cleansed.
Why?
Because in each of his pastime there is a certain uh lessons and certain important lessons and certain important dynamic is there and uh by reading them even subconsciously, even without noticing it, we will be able to purify our hearts of anarthas.
So therefore, the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sometimes people are afraid to touch Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They say no no no no, I'm not eligible to do it.
I know one devotee he said he gave a vow, I will not read the 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because I still didn't understand the previous nine cantos. We will never understand nine cantos.
We still have to read the 10th canto and try to not to really analyze it in a very systematic way but to be absorbed in it and to actually rely or trust Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Vyāsadeva that a very important process of digestion of our subtle body is taking place.
This is what Kapiladeva is explaining in the third canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that while performing devotional service, chanting of the holy name, reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you know doing kīrtan and distributing books, worshipping the deities and associating with the sādhus the unseen and unnoticable process of digesting of our subtle body is taking place. It's like when we eat the food, we don't really understand how it's happening.
It's not that we consciously sit and say, okay, now uh let's inject little bit of this you know juice into the stomach because some proteins need some uh chloric acid.
uh no it's not work like this it's just automatic we are just we're just you know sitting there uh and uh the digestion is taking place the main thing which we shouldn't do, we should not distort the digestion.
If we distort the digestion, there will be indigestion and the digestion becomes the food poisoning and food poisoning brings about many bad consequences.
So the disturbing the digestion, the element which disturbs the digestion is called how? Like an alpha. Yes. It's called offense. It's called aparādha.
This is what completely disturbs the nice process which is taking place and therefore it takes so long and it's theice process which is taking place and therefore it takes so long and it's so bad.
So initially we should just you know be aware of this, try to avoid it by all means. Try to understand what it means to be offensive. Try not to manifest our offensive nature which is there deeply within
our citta, within our ahaṅkāra, within our false ego. And uh you know try to serve, try to become humble and tolerant and gradually, gradually this process will take place and ultimately we will find ourselves on the bank of Yamuna River, you know taking off our sari and entering into the cold water of Yamuna in this month of Margashira.
So that was a little introduction. The lecture didn't start yet. But it was necessary for us to kind of to orient ourselves into this subject matter and to understand that it's still very important.
So I'll start a little bit of this līlā, I will not go too long. I will explain this first verse of 22nd chapter, and then let's see what happened next.
Context of the Vastra-harana pastime
We have still two more lectures. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains hemante prathame māsi nanda-vraja-kumārikāḥ. So first of all, 22nd chapter follows the 21st chapter, as should have been expected.
So, and in the 20th chapter, the description of rainy season is there. And very poetically Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains what is happening in Vraj in rainy season. How the rain revives everyone
and he gives so many different beautiful metaphors of the rainy season. And he basically explains in this 20th chapter how Sadhaka is flourishing or being revived, coming in contact with Krishna consciousness.
Because wandering in this material world, in this desert of material world we are dried up and we experience some so much negative emotions are there.
Like we were walking down the street and there was this clinic of psychosomatic diseases for children. Now children have psychosomatic diseases.
They they hardly have any psychic, but they already have psychosomatic diseases because there's so much pain is stored within our consciousness, so much negative emotions are there.
So that's that's the experience of this desert of material world. And when we come in contact with Krishna consciousness, it's like rain:
the rain which is pouring down on the dried-up heart of living entity and it's revived. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains this and basically what he means it's very important. Because 20th, 21st and 22nd chapters are
actually description of pūrva-rāga. It's the first tiny little sprout of spiritual emotions.
Everything before that, all the previous 19th chapter of the 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They are important but they are to prepare us to this little you know very gentle and very vulnerable sprouts of spiritual emotions.
And that's why the rainy season is there, because we know in the rainy season all the seeds which are sown they start sprouting and manifesting in the earth, and they're very gentle and very vulnerable.
So and so in the 20th chapter, it's the very beginning of this pūrva-rāga. Symbolic description of this feeling of separation with Krishna. Is coming naturally into the pure heart.
When the heart is pure, then we start longing of God. You know, where are you? Why did you desert me? Why did you turn away from me? You know of course I have forgotten you.
Anyway, this sort of dialogue is coming on, but it's only possible when the heart is sufficiently pure.
This longing, this sadness, this experience of meeting or of separation before meeting with the Lord is accessible to us, but on a certain level of spiritual development.
It comes to us, and basically it's the 20th chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the 31st chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the pūrva-rāga, this pūrva-rāga, these feelings are described in the Song of Gopis, who hear the song of the
flute of Krishna. They don't see Krishna. They only hear from far away the faint sound of Krishna's song.
And actually, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, he said that the song of Krishna's flute in our case is Bhagavad-gītā. Because Bhagavad-gītā is Krishna's song, right? It's his song. And he's calling us.
So this first experience, this first faint experience of spiritual emotions is possible when we are still far away but we still kind of hear the voice of Krishna, who is calling us: Come to me, come to me, come back to me. Don't be, you don't have to be in this desert of the material world.
So that's the 21st chapter.
When the description of the feelings of pūrva-rāga of married little grown-up girls of Vṛndāvana is described. There are two kinds of gopis in Vraja. The first kind is they are little older and they already married. Because according to Vedic culture, the girls should be married or at least engaged before the beginning of puberty.
Otherwise the, you know, mental or emotional attraction will you know will serve a very bad uh service to to the girl. You know, before that, she should know that there is an object of my meditation and my attachment.
And there are two kinds of girls, one are already little elder and they already married. Of course, we know it's an illusory marriage.
The story Srila Jivagoswami explains very beautifully that all the girls in Vrindavan when they grew up they meditated on Krishna and they wanted to have Krishna as their husband.
And all the parents of these girls they were completely agreeable to their choice. They also wanted to have Krishna as their son-in-law and it almost happened. But then Vasudev thought what will happen to Krishna?
Vasudev in Mathura, he heard that massive marriage is about to take place in Vrindavan. My little son, who is there, will be married to, you know, thousands of young girls.
He heard this news and he became completely afraid. He was so, I mean he because he knew that if if Krishna is married to all these girls, that's it. He's stuck there.
He is stuck for the rest of his life and he will be sorting out his family affairs. You know, there is no way for Krishna to come back to Mathura.
So Vasudev he calls Gargachary, his family priest, and he says, You immediately, without any delay, go to Vrindavan and somehow rather destroy this plan.
Somehow rather make some, you know, do whatever you like, you know, you know better, you're a brāhmaṇa. I'm just a kṣatriya, but you're a clever brāhmaṇa. Somehow or other tell them that if they marry Krishna now then it will be very bad for their future and there will be separation and you know you know you know it better you're an astrologer. You know you tell them that the Rahu is there in the eighth house and Shani
is in the seventh, and you know, so and they don't understand anything so but it will sound very authoritative. Anyway that's exactly what Gargachary did.
He came to Vraj and he started and he he entered into the plot with Yogamāyā with Paurnamāsī and they were going around and they say, you know, it's it's a good plan, but not now. You shouldn't do it now because otherwise there will be very bad consequences. And therefore, ultimately there were some according to it's
not the time to explain all the intricacies of how Yogamāyā works, but anyway, the some sort of illusory marriages were arranged within the Vraja, and some girls were either engaged or married with some other boys.
But there were girls who were younger, who were born later in the past times of Krishna. And that's the 22nd chapter of the 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam actually describes them, their purvaraga.
And it's even more important for us to understand their feelings because their feelings are less mature than the feelings described in the previous chapter.
They are really really beginning, and they are not mature enough themselves because they are still very small girls. Still, they already love Krishna. Like, you know, we have some little feelings towards Krishna.
We don't have a completely mature emotional apparatus to love Krishna. No chance. We are not emotionally mature enough to be engaged in Krishna. But you know, little you know. It's not a bad idea to have such a boyfriend.
Especially if some transgender operation is possible then
Significance of the Margashira month
anyway so the idea here is that it's the very very beginning sprout of emotions towards Krishna. Romantic feelings towards Krishna which is described here. And therefore the few words are important here. I will explain it and finish soon.
Hemante prathame śi- so he explains these līlās which are according to emotional maturation but, he also compares this emotional growth with the passage of time.
This is his trick, how Śukadeva Gosvāmī Vyāsadeva explaining this. He explains this according to the passage of time, but his real intention is to explain how the emotional maturation takes place within our heart.
And therefore, we see in the 20th chapter there is a rainy season. In the 21st chapter, there is Śarat season, the early autumn, and in the in the 22nd chapter, he says, Hemante prathame śi- in the first months of winter.
So, this līlā took place in the first months of winter, which is Margashira, which immediately follows Kartik Mas. After Kartik Mas, this Margashira mas comes, and Krishna,
strangely enough, in Bhagavad-gītā says, Among all the months of the year, I'm the month of Margashir. Why?
You know, he says, oh, this spring is so nice because it's so so many flowers are there, and there are so many other, and you know, Kartik is there.
Why does Krishna say that? That the Margashira month is vibhūti, is his special opulence among all the other uh months of the year. Uh why this is a very special time.
And Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura he gives an explanation that Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī agrees with this explanation. He says, Krishna says that out of all months, I am
because Vastra-hara-līlā took in this month, took place in this month. Because it's so it leaves a strong saṁskāra, such strong emotional memory within Krishna's heart that he said, yeah, it is a nice month. I like it.
Because our liking of certain times of the year or whatever is according to the experiences which we had before. Certain periods of the year they connected emotionally in
our memories, and therefore they are very dear to us. So Krishna remembers about this. On the battlefield of Kuruksetra.
He is standing there in front of the opposing army and thinking about Vastra-hara-līlā and says, out of all months of the year, I am this Margashira month. And therefore he says, Hemante Prathameasi.
Role of vows and physical austerities
And of course, this is a very cold time of the year. And it's also important because the last word of this verse is Vratam. Vratam means vow and vow means austerity. The idea here is that to get Krishna you need to perform
some austerities. You know, and the ancient sages of India of Bharata they say that you know the rest of the world is the land of Boga. This is Bogladesh.
The land of enjoyment and the tapo-vṛtta tapo-pradeśa is Bhārata. Bharata is the land of Tapasya. And it's still, you know, Tapasya is still much more prominent in Bharata than anywhere else.
You go to Kumbamela and you see all kinds of people, weird people, doing all kinds of tapasyas.
You know, somehow or other people in uh ancient Bharata they had, and they still have, because they understand. If you want to achieve something, you have to perform austerities. Enjoyment leads you nowhere.
Even if you want to help, even if you want whatever, whatever achievement you want to get to enjoy in this material world you need to perform austerities and therefore he says hemanteprathamasi in the first months of winter this Nandavraja Kumarika, the young unmarried girls of Nandavraja of the village of Gokul, they performed Vrata, they performed some severe austerities.
And the next line is Nandavraja Kumarikaha. It's also a very interesting thing. First of all, of course, Kumarika means virgins which are not married yet.
And Kumarika means that they're really small because this suffix ka, not kumari, kumari ka. Kumari ka means you know like in Russian we have the same suffix, dievachka.
So uh this ka uh means the very small girls. Kumari Kaha. And Nandavrajya Kumarikaha. Nandavraja Kumarikaha it's interesting because in the Vedic culture you cannot really marry with somebody from your village.
You're not allowed. Because you know the all the boys and girls in the village are considered to be brothers and sisters, and you're not allowed to marry with your two close relatives.
It's a very strong prohibition, and still it's strictly followed in India, I live in this Anyor village and I know some local people and they tell me, you know, the marriage can only take place with a girl or a boy from from a different village, not from the same village.
So why then Sukadev Gaswami says Nandavraja Kumarikaha? Why does he say that this the heroines of this Leela are the girls, the little girls from Nandavraja, from the same village.
So there are different explanations of this.
One explanation is that Nandavraja is that somehow or other they are from different villages, not from the same Nandagaon or of Nandavraj, but because Nandamarach he is the king of this whole area and he knows girls in the different villages. So Nandavraj means all these girls which Nandamarach liked and wanted to have as his daughters-in-law.
So it's some small girls from different villages which somehow or other Nandamaraj liked while traveling or going in this village.
And another explanation is that actually Kumari here doesn't mean the girl from the same village, Nandavraja-kumārikā.
But Kumari means it comes from Sanskrit play of words. Ku uh means ugly the prefix ku- comes from kuṣṭa and kuṣṭa means ugly so and māra means Cupid, god of love, so by saying Nandavraja-kumārikā, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that these girls were so beautiful that they made even Cupid ugly.
And even Cupid stupid. So this is uh you know they were so extremely beautiful that even the most charming uh creature in this material world, which is God of love, became completely ugly and stupid in front of them.
Food restrictions and a purifying diet
So that's why this is another very rasika explanation of this Nandavraja-kumārikā, huh? So, and then carur caruhu, they were performing haviṣya-bhuñjaḥ. Bunjanaha. That's another very interesting point.
The point here is that vrata means austerity, and austerity primarily means some restrictions in the food.
So that's a very important understanding that you austerity doesn't mean that you stand on one leg and then there is a fire in front of you, and behind you, and then you go back to your room and you eat a huge amount of food.
Of course, to digest it you need some extra fire, so you go back to perform your austerities. No, austerities first and foremost means some uh restrictions on your food because food is
the most important, our most important connection with this material world. Most visible, most tangible connection, and we are very much dependent on food. So austerity means to lessen our dependence
on matter. That's the main point of austerity.
I am now dependent on matter, but I want to be less dependent, I want to rely on God, I want to be dependent on Him, and it basically means that I should try to restrict myself in the consumption
of food, and very soon we will have ekādaśī, and ekādaśī is of course a very uh you know important uh example is, of course, a very, you know, important example of this—it's the austerity.
And any other religion you take, you know, they will always explain that austerity means you restrict your food. And then what kind of restriction was there, Havishyam Bunjanaha.
And of course Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in the purport here there quoting his Krishna book why it is so important To perform austerities if we want to achieve something.
Especially why it is so important to restrict the food because when we are restricting our food consumption, we purify the body.
We are eating this food and we're eating, we are overeating, we are eating some strange combination of the food, you know, this you know wide varieties of different foods uh waiting, you know.
Recently I was in in one city and they they put in front of me you know ten different varieties of cheese and I was uh my first difficulty was to choose out of them which one.
And there's so much variety of food, and because of this, the body becomes contaminated.
There is so much toxins accumulated in the body, and it's very difficult to meditate when our body is so bugged down, so much you know contaminated by all these toxins due to undigested food.
And therefore, it is said: what is Havishan? Havishyam means it's explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda that this is a certain kind of kichri.
But you know Jīva Gosvāmī explains that Havishya, the very word Havishya, comes from the word Havan. Havan means sacrifice.
So, havisha is a certain food which can which is so pure, which can be poured as an ablation into the fire of the sacrifice. So, it definitely has to have some ghee as a part, as a component, because ghee is purifying.
It has to have some milk also. You know, usually kichvi doesn't have milk. But Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that this is some fresh grains because this is the winter season when the grains are harvested already.
And then the milk is there and, ghee is there, and the mongdala is there. So it's a very light, and at the same time, it's a very purifying food. Having all this cow components which are purifying by its by themselves.
So ghee milk and fresh grains and dal cooked together and also your veter says then when different components are cooked together then they're easy to digest so and therefore you know to take the same food every day would be very purifying.
Therefore, it is said, Chetur Havishyan Bunjana.
Worship of Katyayani and Yogamaya
They were enjoying or they were consuming this Havishya to worship Katyani Archanavratam. To worship Katyani. And who is Katyayani we will explain because there's a lot of different explanations.
Why did they worship Katyani? And who is Katyayani?
Basically, Katyayani, just short introduction of the next subject is the Yoga Maya. Not the material energy, not Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva. It's Yoga-maya who is ruling in Vrindavan and they were worshipping Katyayani to get Krishna as their husband.
So they gave this vow and I will explain what happened
next and how it happened, what happened before that, because Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives a beautiful preliminary story which brings us to this point of the first uh day uh uh pratipat of uh Himantha uh season of uh Margashira.
So that was the beginning. Thank you very much, Hare Krishna. Śrīla Prabhupāda-kīrtana. Yes. Do do we have time for questions or so? Thank you very much for very good information explanations.
Um I had two questions which are quite interrelated and uh you spoke about also the emotional uh aspect of the sadka and uh I was wondering how um especially in the process of Japa we are always um it's insisted that we hear very properly when we chant.
And when you're speaking about creating some skala and when you're speaking about a five types of meditations by Jīva Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī. Then I'm thinking um five stages. Five meditations.
And then how do we how do we understand hearing in the whole process? First of all we are not only chanting in japa, we're also chanting in kīrtana.
And in Kirtan emotions are built in obviously you know and you're supposed to manifest emotions.
It's just in the beginning stages emotions are not advisable because in the beginning stages you should just concentrate on the mind but at the same time on on the sound of the holy name because the sound of the holy name is powerful.
But at the same time, it's not that emotions are prohibited. Śrīla Prabhupāda said if some emotion comes, we should not artificially wind ourselves up or instigate our emotions.
But if the emotion comes, it's very good and Prabhupāda approves it very much. He says it's a perfection of your chanting.
If you hear, but at the same time you're emotionally involved. If you don't feel emotions, don't try to artificially invoke these emotions in the beginning. They will come. They are coming.
So they are not really hindrance, they are very advisable, but uh, the just it's a matter of time and purification of the heart when they come. And uh, of course in the kirtan they're there from the very beginning.
And the second, and my second question was related to how for example when we uh read about uh japa and then for example Saccidānanda Mahārāja and also Satsvarūpa Mahārāja, they talk about this aspect of recognizing that the holy name is a person.
And um I was just thinking of how this is such an elevated understanding because we see through meditation it's we get more purified and there is this blossoming of consciousness.
So perhaps you could also, um, yeah, address this so seeing Kṛṣṇa or the uh holy name as a person. Well, the fact of the matter is that we should try to remember
that the holy name is not different from Kṛṣṇa. And that's what it means that holy name is a person. We have to remember that invoking the name of Kṛṣṇa, we're invoking him.
We are not really chanting some mystical formula without having some person on the background or behind it. We are inviting Kṛṣṇa for a conversation, for a dialogue.
So it's not that we should always remember you know that you know holy name is a person, holy name is a person. No.
Holy name is Kṛṣṇa. There's no difference, and while chanting him, while chanting his name, we are interacting with a person, and therefore we have to be very careful. He's there.
He is he is in the holy name and he knows whether we really uh uh uh calling for him or we are just you know doing some other things.
Sometimes we, we, you know, browse the internet and the same Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says, "Okay, how you relate to me, how you re— I will reciprocate with you accordingly. So you don't really care about me, so good luck. I don't care about you.
So that's, that's what we should remember, that the holy name is no different from from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Tīrtha Mahārāja? Thank you for that picture.
Um just a question two parts like it is said that the whole name like the sound vibration includes everything, the guṇa, rūpa and the līlā.
But at the same time, um I once said that the sound actually like the whole name, uh, is still there in the guṇa and rūpa and līlā. So is reading more or less like just a catalyst so that when we are
chanting we are, uh, raising our... yeah, as I said, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the meditation guide. So Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the companion for our japa.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is something which we should remember while we're chanting japa. So these verses, you know, which if they come, you know, spontaneously.
So Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the satyam paraṁ dhīmahi, it's a meditation, but are we focusing on getting these sound skyers from reading or from chanting? Because there is no there's no like sound by reading to some extent.
Yeah, but still you have some saṁskāra, you get some saṁskāra you read, and some sort of memory is there, some sort of and because uh it's not just, that's why Prabhupada included Sanskrit words into his books.
It's the words which are pronounced by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. And Śukadeva Gosvāmī already invested so many things into that. So therefore we should read and while reading them we are
you know, coming in contact with the experience of Śukadeva Gosvāmī with his saṁskāras. Not completely, but to a certain extent, we are coming coming in contact with it.
I guess it's too late. Thank you very much, Hare Krishna. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!