Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.17
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · London · 2011
Chapters
Recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam verse
Bhagavate Sudeva Deva Sudeva Nana Skritya Naskritya Nikyela Nashtaje, Bhakti Bhakti Nashtiki, Bhakti Bhakti Nastiki They will read famous clothes from the second chapter of the first enter Srimad.
Shrimpatam, Shrimpatam, Swampata, Svakata, Krishna Vishna, Unya Srawana Kirtana, Unya Sala Kirtana, Pride, Manta, Shahi, Bhadra Satam, Srimadam Swakatha Krishna, Srimadam Swakatha Krishna Srimpatam
Swapata Krishna, Srimpatam Swapatakrishna, Punya Sāvana Kirtana, Punya Savanakirtana Punyanta Srivatamatam
Those who have developed the urge to hear the message of the urge to hear the message of Swatata Swatana His own world Krishna the personality of God of God Punya Punya Virtuous Virtuous Sravana Sravana Hearing Hearing Krishna Kirtana Krishna Kirtana Tending Riddivantana Ridyan Sava Within one's own heart, within one's own heart.
He suddenly desire to enjoy matter desire to enjoy matter nidunati uh cleanses cleanses sure sure in effect satam, Satam of the Truthful. Of the truthful. Translation.
Shri Krishna, the personality of God, who is the Paramatma super soul in everyone's heart, and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee, who has developed the urge to hear his messages, which are in themselves virtuous and properly heard and chanted.
Messages of the personality of God and Sri Krishna are not different from Him.
Whenever therefore effectsless hearing and verification of God are undertaken, it is to be understood that Lord Krishna is present there in the form of transcendental sound which is as powerful as the Lord personal.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His Shikshastraka declares clearly that the holy name of the Lord has all the potencies of the Lord, and that He has endowed His innumerable names with the same potency.
There is no rigid fixture of time, and anyone can chant the holy name with attention and reverence at his convenience. The Lord is so kind to us that He can be present before us personally in the form of transcendental sound.
But unfortunately, we have no taste for hearing and glorifying the Lord's name and activities. We have already discussed developing the taste for hearing and chanting the holy sound.
It is done through the media The Lord is reciprocally respondent to his devotees when
The Lord's desire to reclaim conditioned souls
he sees that a devotee is completely sincere in getting admittance to the transcendental service of the Lord and has thus become eager to hear about him.
The Lord acts from within the devotee in such a way that the devotee may easily go back to him. The Lord is more anxious to take us back into his kingdom than we can desire.
Most of us do not desire at all to go back to God. Only very few men want to go back to Godhead. I believe women are concluded. But anyone who desires to go back to Godhead Sri Krishna helps in all respects.
One cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless one is perfectly cleared of all sins. The material sins are products of our desires toward it over material nature. It is very difficult to get rid of such desires.
Women and wealth are very difficult problems for the devotee making progress on the path back to God. Many stalwarts in the devotional line fell victim to these allurements and thus retreated from the path of the agent.
But when one is helped by the Lord Himself, the whole process becomes as easy as anything by the divine grace of the Lord.
To become restless in the contact with women and wealth is not an astonishment because every living being is associated with such things from remote time, practically immemorial. And it takes time to recover from this foreign nature.
But if one is engaged in hearing the glories of the Lord gradually, he realizes his real position.
By the grace of God, such a devotee who gets sufficient strength to defend himself from the state of disturbances, and gradually all disturbing elements are eliminated from his mind.
Srimba ki Srimba Damsta Krishna Pumya Sarawakana Stoya Badana Sprit Sarah Sri Krishna, the personality of God, who is Deparamatma, Supersoul in everyone's heart, and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear his messages which are in themselves virtuous and Prabhu Bihar and Chandra.
Namau Vishnu Pray Krishna Prashtani Bukarish Matibak Vidataswam, Pidani Namask, Sasvati Dari Goga Bami Prachar Panchavampathabis chakripa sindura e vaja patidampa e shar yanda Chaysi Krishna Chaitanya Prabhupada Nanda Sriadva Sri Vasadhi Gobakradha Krishna Are Krishna Krishna Krishna Rayama Rayamba Chanta Manay Kritaka Pukhe Vitam Maya Bhutta Vidayana Posni Ajahnam Bitwajoka Sankir Sanaikama So this permission I will try to continue the topic which we started yesterday.
And even though I'm well aware that probably will not say anything which you don't already know.
Limitations of external psychological methods
I'll still try to say something to stress the importance of hearing Kṛṣṇa-kathā.
Yesterday we stopped our discussion by saying that sometimes in the society of the devotees, sincere devotees who want to change their heart. Some fascination to some other methods of changing the heart become prevalent.
And specifically, I mentioned two of this kind of fashions so to speak. When the devotees frustrated in their attempts to change the heart in a very radical way, as it is implied by the process of devotion.
So we try to employ some other methods. And one of them, I said, some kind of psychological trainings. And you know these methods they do have their position. Whatever helps, whatever works.
When I mentioned this psychological method as something which doesn't work, I didn't mean that it doesn't work at all. It certainly works helping someone to understand what's going on in his heart and in his mind.
It certainly works to remove some blocks which are there between the soul and the process of devotional service. But unfortunately, you know, sometimes the devotees, they stress too much attention to this particular.
And too much attention means that this all of a sudden becomes something the main process of devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda didn't mention psychological trainings and his list of devotional processes.
Although you may somehow rather connect with one of them, I don't know which is exactly what, but uh But again, you know, we have to be very balanced in our approach to this.
Certainly these methods help on a certain stage, but we still have to remember that the main process for changing the part is here in Shrimad. And this point cannot be overestimated.
It has to be stressed again and again and again because otherwise we will forget about it. I mentioned yesterday that psychological methods don't work.
I mean they work, but there is an interesting also proof for this statement. It was told to me by one devotee who attended one of the training seminars.
And at the end of the training seminar, and then everyone was very excited. Everyone just felt that you know he found some new way and new things to approach.
And then the audience at the end of the seminary dispersed, and this particular devotee, he was alone, and he saw that the lecturer or the trainer was there collecting his papers and everything. And he decided to approach him and he asked him a very pertinent question.
He said, how many of these people who listen to you and the rest of my house, 400 people or 200 people, will use what you said?
And the lecturer looked at him and said, no, not then. Because if they could use it, they would probably already use it. Anyway, again, uh having said this, uh we
Material austerity versus unmotivated devotion
don't really we're not fanatical, we can use everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but we have to really understand that hearing, the proper hearing, as Prabhupāda says in the world, if it's done offenselessly, if the hearing can change it is done offenselessly, this is the method of transformation of the heart.
And I mentioned the other method which is also invoked in all the devotional community. And I wanted to read something which Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says about this kind of approach when somebody is trying forcefully to
change himself by atonement, by tapasya, by all kinds of stuff. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives a very interesting analysis which I wanted to share with you today. He says atonement in jñāna is through repentance.
By atonement through jñāna one's sins and seeds of sin or desires are destroyed. But vāsanā is not destroyed. And he says later on, the practice of repentance is absorbed in
some foreign devotional processes based on a paternal rasa. And since this paternal rasa is mixed with jñāna and opulence, it is reasonable. But in unmotivated devotional service of the sweet Lord, however,
there is no opposing crisis like fear, repentance, or liberation. Realization of one's constitutional position and elimination of all previous sins in the form of both fructified and unfructified sins are both irrelevant fruits of bhakti and therefore easily attained by the devotees.
Obviously that Surya Bhakti Nata convince Christianity, which he calls foreign process based on paternal rasa.
And he says that the problem with this is that it's a mixed process and therefore, to employ these kind of processes on a personal party is not beneficial in ultimate sense because it deprives us the sweet relationship with the Lord which is a mix of opulence and uh how do you call it opulence and Um anyway,
having said this, we will proceed with the next uh things which I will mention today very briefly, how this process of transformation of the heart works when we just hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
What Śrīla Prabhupāda stresses in this particular purport is that ultimately when we hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it's Krishna who starts acting within our heart.
And Vidunoti Suḥṛt Satām, Vidunoti is the simple present in Sanskrit. It means that as soon as one śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ, Kirtana, as soon as one is engaged in this process, then Krishna
start doing this because as Prabhupāda says in the purport, he wants it more than ourselves.
And as soon as he sees a little spark of the desire within the living entity which manifests through the hearing process, it's very important to understand that our hearing and the quality of our hearing is the manifestation of the quality of our desire to come to Krishna.
But as soon as he sees or senses this desire, he starts helping. And therefore, that's bhakti. That's pure bhakti because it relies entirely on the mercy of the Lord, not on our own endeavors.
Nevertheless, our own endeavors are important because this process of hearing should be, as Prabhupāda says, offenseless. And that's in itself a very interesting statement because usually
you know you can perhaps very easily imagine that you know you can be offensively offensively or offenselessly speaking about somebody but hearing you know it seems to be quite innocent process.
You just hear how you can offensively hear about somebody. Nevertheless, it's quite possible according to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
And that's perhaps the main reason why this very powerful process, which relies entirely on the great power of the Lord present within our heart is not really as effective as it could be.
It really depends on the quality of our hearing and the motivation which is behind the hearing.
The mental adjustment of mental tuning up for the process of hearing. And that's basically what I wanted to speak a little bit today because there's not much time left.
So before I wanted to say, and Prabhupada also mentioned this and this is a very important point of our philosophy is the process of cleansing of the heart is a gradual process.
In a normal conditions, Of course, in some abnormal conditions, it can be very glorious
and very abrupt and immediately, you know somebody gets the revelation and you know that's it. He's finished and everything is finished for him, he's there, he's gone.
As soon as he hears, this is of course this is possible and that's mercy. There is a room for mercy in our life. But usually and definitely mercy is there already?
Gradual process of heart purification
But usually mercy takes a very gradual part in our life.
And we have to be very clear about this gradual process of the mercy, and not count so much in this immediate, instantaneous kind of, then it will happen to me as soon as I hear.
So this gradual process of cleansing the heart through hearing with the proper attitude has a certain stage which I wanted to elaborate in the beginning because it's important how it works and what is the mechanism.
If we look in our own development, we can very clearly see three or four distinctive stages through which we can progress in the process of devotional service and the first stage is,
as we know all, is the stage of enthusiasm.
Then all of a sudden we get this inspiration and we hear in the beginning, and this hearing process gives us tremendous joy and enthusiasm in the beginning because all of a sudden we hear something which is new.
And this emotional stage which is there and which we know is called utsaha-mayi stage greatly dependent on the external sources of inspiration.
And the problem of this particular emotional stage is that people who come to Krishna consciousness, and this is one of the possible scenarios of somebody who comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And getting some kind of you know this inspirational enthusiasm of the beginners, get used to it and somehow or rather, without coming to the next stage of development, when the source of inspiration becomes internal. Try to overly depend on the sources of inspiration from the outside, from the external sources of inspiration.
There is a species of devotees. If you know, being fancy, this is my humble observation. We just totally completely, and I know that this the what did they jump from one festival to another festival?
And within the festivals, they as morose as usually.
So and they they usually need all this kind of what they need they need you know really you know good things and you know fire that letter honey woo you know we'll go we will go there and everyone is yeah right
and then after this five-hour lecture, everything is finished. So and that's a natural stage. That's a very natural stage which should not be neglected but the point is that one should not stay on the stage forever.
When I was thinking about it and I remember this during the Christmas in the airport they had the Santa Clauses which are pumped by the air and they because the air is pumping.
And as soon as the air stopped they're very enthusiastic sound closes for some time because the air is pumping. But then you know as soon as it's not there, enthusiasm is gone.
So this particular stage is important, but we have to understand how to get to another stage, to the second stage of development.
Three stages of Brahminical advancement
Then our enthusiasm does not depend at all on the external sources. Interestingly enough, you know, we know that there are three stages brāhmaṇa.
And first stage is jāḥ, second stage is vipra, and third stage is of course brāhmaṇa itself and it's Manu-saṁhitā and some other literature is there in this classification.
And it's extremely interesting in this etymology of this world. Śrīla Prabhupāda says, "Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam."
It's interesting, and because these uh three nomenclatures, three names, or three stages of uh Brahminical development so to speak. It's exactly what we have to go through.
And the first is called Vija when you are just born. You're twice born.
You're born in a spirit you are uh more or less done with your material life and you're born again you're born again brahmanas Vijas through the inspiration of the spiritual master.
Basically, the healing of the spiritual master becomes uh this uh driving force for this second verse.
But then the next stage is called vipra and usually uh the normal usage of this word vipra is that somebody who is expert, somebody who knows something, who knows the deadness.
But the etymological meaning of this word, vipra, means one who is inspired. Vipra is coming from the root uh verbal root to inspire, being inspired.
So and this is and of course the third stage is you know Brahman. Brahman is the one who knows Brahman. So this three things that very clearly delineate or describe the process which we have to go through.
First is the born again, and this you know this process is a very interesting thing. Practically you get the new life. But then the next stage you have to get the source of inspiration from within.
And this process of getting the source of inspiration, and then of course brāhmaṇa, when you know Brahman, you will be there. But this source of inspiration is coming through the hearing.
When the hearing becomes established in our heart and in our mind. And that's what I'm going to talk how to do this and what it means.
Basically, and therefore you know again and again and again and again in the Vedic literature uh there is so much stress on this hearing and studying Svadhyaya, hearing the Vedic literature and you know studying because uh what is uh
the the the point here is that uh which is mentioned in many places, but specifically in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it said that Śabda-brahma Param Brahma Manodeshasvati. Krishna himself says that Sabta Brahma, Parambrahma, mam
Ubhe, śāśvati tanum. I have eternally sasvati always two bodies. Tanu means body. Ubhe. Mama Uhebe, these two bodies or two forms I have Krishna says. And these two forms are Shabda Brahma and Paramah.
In other words, and, uh, Krishna eternally, and that's what Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions in the purport, Krishna eternally exists in the two forms, in the form of Śabda-brahman and in the form of the sound, and in the form of, uh, param Brahma of his original, so to speak, form. But they are both original.
And the very important point is that this Shabda Brahman is the
bridge between our, uh, you know, for us uh, to get to Param Brahman. Therefore, in Upaniṣads, it's a very important statement that is said that Śabda-brahma Isnakah, Parabrahmanabikachati. Śabda-brahman niṣṇātaḥ.
If Śabda-brahman becomes, if you become very familiar, niṣṇātaḥ literally means expertise. If you become very expert in Śabda-brahma, paraṁ brahma adhigacchati, you will attain Param Brahman.
The attainment of paragrahmanas very much depends, very much depends on this expertise or our relationship with Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And that's the only way to get there.
And as I said, we all know this, but still it's good to remember about it again.
Qualifications required for effective hearing
And now we come to the real point of this little discussion for which I have seven minutes only. Uh and the real point is that what are the conditions which have to be fulfilled for the hearing process to be effective.
And these conditions are mentioned. Like here, Śrīla Prabhupāda includes it in the translation, even though in Sanskrit it's not there. In Sanskrit it simply says Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
But Śrīla Prabhupāda specifically qualifies this: it's offenses heard and glorified these messages and they will they will clean the heart.
But in the beginning of Shrimad Bhagavatam, in the second verse of Shimad Bhagavatam, there's a very important statement. Sadhya Kridya Varuddhya te ta krithibi su strashudhsana.
And sadhya means immediately, Kridyavaruddha te Krishna becomes when you hear this Shrimad Bhagavatam, Krishna becomes the prisoner of your heart. Basically, he becomes encased in your heart.
And immediately, sadgyo, sadhyo kritya varudya dare atra Atra means if you hear the Srimad Bhagavatam. So means the same moment Krishna becomes the prisoner or the resident of your heart.
But there is a very important condition included which you usually forget: Kritib. If people who are Kritib or pious people, you can you know preliminarily translate it as a pious pretty here.
But and uh Siddhaswani commending on this verse he says Akiti Bis tu Bahu Vilambani even though the verse itself stresses the point of immediate revelation of the heart.edi Imatmely we can reveal Krishna's presence within our heart when we hear.
But the commentator Śrīdhara Svāmī, he says, akṛtibhiḥ to bahu-vilambini. If somebody is akṛtibhiḥ, if he is not properly hearing, Bahu Vilamani means it will take a long time. You will hear again and again and again and nothing will happen to you.
Nothing will really substantially change within your heart if the process of hearing is not properly performed.
And the conditions for this properly performed hearing is very interestingly and very clearly explained in Bhāgavata Purāṇa, in Bhāgavata-māhātmya, because Bhagavat Mahatnia is glorifying this very process
Four essential attitudes for hearing
of hearing Bhāgavatam, and there is a very interesting verse which we have to understand for our benefit, if we want to understand what it means to hear properly and what it means to us to be creative, to be critic, to be pious in the process of healing.
So this verse is simple verse, but very important. It says in this verse, viśvāso guru-vākyeṣu, uh svasmin dīna-tva-bhāvanā, mano-doiṣa-jayaś ceti, kathāyāṁ niścalā matiḥ.
Basically, four things are being said of the and the attitude and the process of the methodology of healing. Viśvāso guru-vākyeṣu, the first condition is simple. Viśvāso guru-vākyeṣu means you have to have viśvās
or śraddhā in the words of your guru. Viśvāsa guru-vākyeṣu, this viśvās viśvās means, uh, vakishu this vishwas vishvas means uh complete trust, complete the mental attitude of complete surrender to the words of guru
in the sense that you know he says this, it means, in other words, I I I shouldn't doubt, I have to really take it to heart. And this viśvās means also that I have to, uh, I have to—I'm not sure to know this, but anyway.
Viśvāso guru-vākyeṣu means that you have to, uh, really, uh, take to heart whatever is being said and try to apply it in your life. And then svasmin dīna-tva-bhāvanā, and that's a very important point.
Svasmin dīna-tva-bhāvanā. Bhāvanā means the mood. And svasmin dīna, you have to have the mood of dīnatva. I'm dīna. Dīna means for, because very often, you know, that's a subtle point.
How I hear this, how I hear Bhāgavatam, how I hear, you know, all: "I know this." Oh course, oh, I know this. Of course, and yeah.
And if I I would speak, I would speak probably in a more profound way than he states or something like this.
So, this—this very important point, svasmin dīna-tva-bhāvanā, when we hear this, dīnatva bhāvanā, the mood of humility, uh, has to be very much present within our heart.
That's the key, uh, sub-key, um, condition for the success of healing. You know, we're coming, and we are coming first of all with śraddhā, with viśvās
within our heart, second of all with humility within our heart. And then two more conditions are there. Two more very important conditions are mentioned in this verse.
Mano-doṣa-jayaś ca iti, Manodāsa-jayas-chayavan. Manodāsa-chaya. Manadosa. Manadosa means the defects or the faults of our mind. What we have to do, and what are the faults of our mind?
We all know what are the defects of our mind. Restless. The mind is extremely restless. The mind doesn't want to stick to something. You know, for for a long time mind, you know, it just doesn't want to do anything.
The only thing which mind likes to do is just to jump from one subject to another, from one activity to another. Why people love internet so much?
Because you can just jump, you know, uh uh unlimitedly and without being concentrated or absorbed in energy, and they are, uh, very good nice.
So the the the very important point of this manodāsa jayas chayavan, you have to really conquer your mind.
You have to have this attitude of, you know, I truly want, I really want, at least this time, at least for 40 minutes of classes is everybody over?
Uh and uh and then uh uh uh you have to really try to negate or to eliminate at least for the moment of hearing, all this manodāsa, the negative tendencies which are there in the mind, which you know every one of us has.
And kathāyaṁ means calamatīḥ. Your intelligence. Matīḥ means intelligence. Matīḥ means basically buddhi. Intelligence or the capacity to analyze.
Kathāyaṁ niścalamatīhitā has to be totally niścala concentrated on the topic on kathāyaṁ, on the kathā, which is going on. And this is the conditions this which make us creepy or deserving hearers.
The hearers who have the qualification, these are the conditions.
Narrative of Madhvacharya and the bull
And there are of course many stories how it worked. And one very interesting and very it's a famous story, but it's a very um how you say this very important story to understand this story,
you know, once Madhvācārya was giving a lecture, Madhvācārya, you know, sometimes he would speak in a very complicated way. It was pure Sanskrit in a very complicated philosophical way.
And you know, of course there were many brāhmaṇa disciples who were hearing him and after they left him they approached him. And because they obviously they required they and they realized by hearing him that
you know the ācārya's words will need explanation. Nobody will understand this word, so somebody will have to really write the purports for his words. And they approached him and said, Who out of us,
we will write the tikā, the commentaries on your work? And of course they were a little proud. Maybe not so little. They approached him with this attitude, you know. We understood everything. Tell us. Make the prophecy.
Who out of us will write the commentary on the tikā? Oh no, your bhāṣya or your words. He was explaining his bhāṣya, his commentary of the sūtra. And Madhvācārya looked at them
very carefully for a few seconds and said, None of you. And then he looked at the bull, which was standing here and said, He will write it.
And this bull, this bull was, this bull was famous because the bull, and remember yes, this is a very important profound statement which I'm going to make. The bull was famous.
The bulls, you know, usual engagement of the bull is that they usually either do some paper, or they just chew something. You know, they always have to chew.
So this particular bull who was carrying the great library of Madhvācārya always, then never Madhvācārya would start speaking, he would stop chewing the grass. He would try to listen with such an attention that you know he couldn't chew the grass anymore.
And Madhvācārya looked at him and said, He will definitely write what I say. Because he listens properly. So the the purport, my humble purport of this story is that
you're also chewing all the time something, you know there is mental chewing gum which is going on within our mind. While we're listening, and usually we don't stop this chewing process when we listen.
But the important thing is which also explained in this verse of Padma Purāṇa is that this chewing process has to stop and it has to really, you know, apply the whole attention to what is being said with the understanding of how important it is.
And of course, and you know sure enough this bull has become Jayāṇīrtha. In his next life, this bull was born as Jayāṇīrtha.
And Jayāṇīrtha, as you know, he wrote tremendous work which called Nyayashuri. This work is still something really unbelievable. It's these big volumes and this many of them.
And this is Bhasya on Mahābhārata. You know, this nyaya-śāstra is something which is out of this world. But this is the bull, you know, so we all have a chance. There are some conditions which have to be fulfilled.
So the bull naturally was not proud, that's a good quality of the bull. The bull was not very, you know, not very proud of himself. He was just very humbly listening.
And there are a few other things which I want to mention,
Analyzing rajasic motivations for hearing
but I really have to use zoom. So it's also interesting to realize what is our motivation. I will tell you two more important things relevant to this topic. It's probably very important. One is the motivation for healing.
There is dīna-tā-bhāva is a very important point of the source of Padma Purāna because it very much is very much connected to the motivation behind our process of healing.
And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is mentioned that there is devotional service in sattva-guṇa, devotional service in raja-guṇa and devotional service in tamo-guṇa. And the distinguishing factor is the motivation.
Why do we do this? What is the reason for us to do this. And especially for us Western people or people of this modern day and age, and this rājasika motivation is extremely important.
But rājasika motivation for devotional service is a very detrimental thing.
And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is mentioned that there are three rājasika motivations. These rājasika motivations can very much be recognized it for our motivation to heal.
One is vibhūti, another one is aiśvarya, aiśvarya is the third one, and the second one is yaśa. Yasha. So viṣaya means the sense enjoyment.
So sometimes we may hear and this is important motivation which is there within our heart.
You know, we hear and we we just expect that the speaker will entertain us. So then he will tell the story how he will come on. How long are you going to speak this boring philosophy? Just tell us something which is entertaining.
You know that's this. I hear with the expectation that you know this guy who is sitting in the āsana, you know will give me some kind of enjoyment to my senses. And I hope we agree to do this.
And if it's not, you know, I'm bored, you know. This is one. Another very important motivation, which is again the block in our proper hearing is yaśas. Yaśas means the uh desire for fame.
And sometimes we hear uh and I know that this is especially very relevant for those who think themselves preachers.
They hear only to, you know, yeah, oh very good, I will I will speak this myself with the next chance, the next opportunity. You know.
But I'm hearing with this sincere heart that something is very important is being said to me now, which I have to apply only here to repeat it afterwards. Because this is an interesting point of some nice joke.
So that's Yasha. I very much to have hanker to have this faith. I'm such a great preacher, you know. And therefore I hear. That's my main motivation to hear. Not because it will change my heart.
Not because it will change my life, but only because I will repeat it.
And of course aiśvarya, aiśvarya is the is the next kind of motivation and aiśvarya means we know aiśvarya means opulence, but aiśvarya means it's from the word Īśvara. And aiśvarya means power also. Sometimes we hear with this desire or with this motivation that when I hear this and then I will repeat it, I will obtain the power or the influence over people.
And that's aiśvarya motivation. I will acquire this ability to influence other people, and that will bring it, that will also bring popularity and this kind of stuff.
So this is the third thing which is there, the rajasic motivation, and that's definitely totally against this dīna-vra-vrata. Therefore, this particular point is so important to know.
We come with the humble heart to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, knowing very well that this is the way to change my heart.
This is the way to change my heart. If I want to change my heart, I have to hear Bhagavatam from this appropriate view in my mind.
Deep reflection as key to transformation
And the very last thing which I want to mention because we can finish this talk is is perhaps the most important of everything which I have said so far.
And that's in relationship to two other points which are There is in this verse of Padma Purāṇa. That is manaḥ-doṣa-jayāc-ca-evaṁ niścala-matir hi.
So the last point which is there is that I have to hear, but hearing is not enough. And the process of hearing should be such that it would ignite in me the process of deliberating or thinking about what I have heard.
The process of hearing is only successful as much as it turns on the thinking process within myself. And that means Kathayam Nishchalamatihi.
I apply my intelligence and I try to apply my intelligence in such a way of what I heard is as to understand what it really means for me and what the conclusion I have to make and how I can apply it in my life and so on so forth.
So in this way my intelligence is being turned on and if it's being turned on then only the process of hearing will become successful in a sense or in relationship to this particular topic of changing the heart.
And a very amazing illustration to this point is the story which I'm sure all of you know, the story of Dundukari and his brother Gokarṇa, which is there in Bhāgavata-māhātmya.
And of course, we all know the story that Dundukari was a rogue. He was an outright sinner. He was, you know, he was a sinner. I mean none of us was as sinful as him. That's also nice to hear.
That's gives some souls to the heart. So but uh and he became a ghost which is also nice to hear.
So he became a ghost and then his brother Gokarṇa, he was killed by his own mistress and was really and he became a ghost and his brother Gokarṇa came and who was very pious and he was a very profound speaker
to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And then he said, I will deliver you by this process of hearing. I will speak Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and you will listen Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and if you listen properly you will be delivered.
And in fact it is said, some of the ācāryas commenting on this story said that in the history of speaking and listening Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there were only two listeners of or hearers Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam who really did it properly.
One was Maharaja Parikshit and the second one was Dundukari, the ghost. Because in his particular case the effect was immediate.
What happened after seven days, you know, we know the story that you know he was put into into the bamboo stick and there were seven notes in the bamboo stick. And after the each day of speaking, when Gokarna was speaking
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam after each day of speaking after some time there was a you know loud explosion and uh and this moment this one particular note of this bumper pole would explode.
So after seven days of this, when the seventh node of bamboo pole exploded, everyone who was present, and there were many people who were present at the time.
All the local villagers and everyone came and everyone was hearing his wrapped attention. It's not that they were sleeping during Bhāgavatam class, you know.
When Gokarna was speaking, everyone, and that's the words of Gokarna himself. Gokarna said so what happened? What happened the um the vimāna, the uh ship, cosmic ship landed to this place, and
two messengers from Vaikuṇṭha came and you know from this bamboo pole, the beautiful Viṣṇudūta-like form or Krishna-like form of Dhundhukārī came out and they took him by hands and put garment and you know welcomed him and glorified him and you knew he entered this vimāna and they were about to fly back
to I could this moment of time, Gokarna interrupted and said, wait a minute, don't fly so quickly. Tell me why you're only taking him, not me. I was the speaker.
He was here. Why you're not taking me? Why nobody else is transformed? This Dhundhukārī was completely transformed. Why nobody else? Everyone was hearing, everyone was in the equal terms.
And everyone was there and he said what particularly he said he said śrotṛ-mana-nirmala-mala-nirmalaḥ so he said they were hearing nirmala in a very pure way. they were hearing nirmala in a very pure way.
All these people by sitting there, not only not only this Dhundhukārī, wait, you know, what are you doing? And then the answer of these Viṣṇudūtas is very important to our topic today.
What they said to Gokarna, they said yes, everyone was hearing, and everyone was attentive and hearing. But nobody was thinking afterwards. Only Dhundhukārī was the one who was really thinking what he has heard.
He said so much so that he didn't sleep at night. Everyone would hear it, go night. It was nice katha. You know, it's usually, he said, nice katha. What was it? I don't remember. But it was nice far out.
So what, what this would do is, uh, nobody thought of what they heard. They were peacefully sleeping in the next katha and then they were listening very nicely to this next katha and then sleep again.
But Dundukari, the ghost Dundukari, didn't sleep the whole night. When the process of hearing would stop,
he would start thinking what it means and this meditation or manana they specifically mention this particular process which should follow the hearing, manana, when we think about what we heard and try to understand
how it applies to us, continued for him, and that's why every day big knots or big chunks of his karma are completely finished by this process of hearing.
And that's exactly what also is being said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam where it is said, where Sūta Gosvāmī in the 15th verse of this chapter says that when somebody is hearing and then thinking, the thinking,
not hearing, becomes the sword by which you can cut the knots of your karma. That's the 15th verse of this chapter, but Sūta Gosvāmī very clearly says.
This topic is very relevant, but what becomes the weapon, what becomes the instrument or the mechanism for cutting the karmic reactions or karmic connections or our conditioned nature is the thinking process of what we have heard.
Mananudhyāsana, anudhyāsana. I meditate how I meditate according to what I have heard. Mananudhyāsana, you know. That's the process which should be employed.
And when this process is employed, then you know this inspiration will become endurable. And then we will reach the third stage which is long now, kind of the beginning of my little discourse of talk.
So I definitely have to finish now. Thank you very much. So just do it for your delivery See my father and haha piece out there.