Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.10.14
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Mayapur · 2017
Chapters
Recitation of Srimad Bhagavatam verse
Omnamo Bhagavate Vasudeva Bhagavati Vasrivaya, Omnamo Bhagavate Vasudevaya sevaya, Omnamo Bhavate, Vasudevaya Narayanamnamastritya sritya, naraamcheva, naratamam, naraam seva naratama Ato Jamu Dirae Nachtray Spa Dr.
Nitam Bhagawa, Tsoria, Bhagawa Tuta Ma Sloque, Bakir Bhavatinaistiki, Bhakti Bhabatinaistiki, Jamprajanopeta Matakrityand vai payana virahakatara Juhava, Putreti Tanmayatayota, Sarbabu takridayamima tosni.
Varedin Simat Bhagavatam Canter 7, chapter 10. Prahlada, the best among exalted devotees. Text 14. Ya Eta Karma Bandha Pramuchate. Ja etat kirtayen machem. Ja etat kirtayen machiem. Tvoja geita, my damnarah,
Tvoja geht, mamnaha, Tamcha mamcha sman, Sam, Twamcha mamcha smanankale, maamcha sangre, karmabanda pra te, karmaban pramu sate, jaitat kirtayen mahyam dwayita mitamnara, dvam chamam chmankale, chamam cham.
Karmaband pramu, ja anyvan who, anyvan who eth This activity kirtaya chance mahyama unto me Bayu Gitam prayers offered prayers offered this Human being you cha as well as well as Mamcha me also Smaran Smaran Remembering Kale
in due course of time, karma bandat from the bondage of material activities, pramuchyatem, Become free.
Purport on liberation from material bondage
Translation and purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
One who always remembers your activities and my activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered, becomes free in due course of time from the reactions of material activities. Purporta.
Here it is stated that anyone who chants and hears about the activities of Prahlada Maharaja and in relationship with Prahlada's activities, the activities of Nishim Gadev gradually becomes free from all the bondage of fruit of activities.
As stated in Bhagavad Gita. Yam Hina Vyattaya Tete Purusan Purusar Shabha, Samadukha Sukam di Ram. Somri Tatvayakalpate or best among men Arjuna, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.
Do Keshvanud Vigma Mana Sukeshu Vigata Sprihaha Vita Raga Bayakrodha Stitadhir Muniruchiate.
One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger is called sage of steady mind.
A devotee should not be aggrieved in the awkward position, nor should he feel extraordinarily happy in material opulence. This is the way of expert management of material life. I repeat it.
This is the way of expert management of material life. Because a devotee knows how to manage expertly, he is called Jivan Mukta.
As Rupa Gaswami explains in Bhaktira Samrita Sindhu, Ihaya Sya Hare Dasy Karmanama Nasagira nikilashvapy avastasu jivan muk A
person acting in Krishna consciousness or in other words in service of Krishna with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within this material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.
Because of constantly engaging in devotional service in any condition of life, a devotee is free from all material bondage.
Bhakti Punati, Manishta, Shwapakan, Abhisambhavat. Even one is born in a family of mitaters, he is purified if he engages in devotional service.
Srila Jiva Gaswami cites this verse in logically supporting that anyone who chants about the pure life and activities of Prahlada Maharaja is freed from the reactions of material activities. Srila Prabhupada.
Karma Bandhat Pramucha De. One who always remembers your activities and my activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered, becomes free in due course of time from the reactions of material activities.
Namaḥ oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī- प्रचारिне Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaḥ ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
Jaya Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhup Nityānanda Śrī Advaita Gadādhara Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda Prabuditananda Sriadvaita Gadata Rasivasadhi Gura Bhakta
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare Hare.
Glorification of hearing and chanting pastimes
Arjunamitu Jokana Kavadata Sankirtana Vaya de killashti daraswadamna anyamsya hasta charana savana phagari pranandama bhagavati rusav.
I will try to speak a few words about this wonderful verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in connection with Kirtan Mela which is going on in Sridam Māyāpur before the Gaura-pūrṇimā festival.
This verse is a usual glorification of the hearing and chanting pastimes of the Lord together with the pastimes of his devotees. And we all know that the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is all about this.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is about describing the glories of the Lord and the glories of his devotees and their relationship, their loving relationship with each other and we'll know that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam again and again stresses this point that this gives you liberation from material bondage.
And moreover, not only liberation, because liberation is just a meager result of hearing and chanting, it can give you love of God.
What is very interesting in this particular verse, which distinguishes this verse from many other verses of this nature, describing the potency of hearing and chanting about the Lord is that specifically it
is said here kāleḥ means in due course of time. Because very often we hear under statements that immediately it gives you liberation from bondage.
But very interesting feature of this particular verse is that it specifically says that you will be liberated, no doubt about it if you hear about the activities of Prahlāda Mahārāja and myself. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva very humbly says that your activities and also myself in connection with myself.
But he also stresses this interesting point that it will not happen immediately, but it may take some time. And we all know by our own sad experience that it usually takes some time.
But usually, the result of it is not so immediate as we would like it to be. And Śrīla Prabhupāda actually very beautifully explains why it takes time.
Because oftentimes we like to stress this particular point that you know I'm already liberated. Why? Because I chanted once, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Okay, not once. 16 rounds, once a day.
Or sometimes people say, I vow to chant 16 rounds till the end of my life.
You know, I usually say that 16 rounds till the end of my life is not so much, you know, it's kind of if you spread it. Because that's what it means. I vowed to chance sixteen rounds till the end of my life.
So of course when the shastra wants to stress or emphasize the potency of the the holy name, shastra will say just immediately.
Pitfalls of assuming easy salvation
But here a different stress is given that shastra
wants to say that it usually takes time, and again, as I said, Śrīla Prabhupāda very beautifully explains this in a purport when he quotes these verses from Bhagavad-gītā where Krishna explains what is the precondition or, what is the condition, what is the mental state of a person who is freed from the reactions of his sinful life?
Because oftentimes, unfortunately, we being faulty human beings with all the frailties of human beings tend to take the statements of Shastra something like Christians take vicarious salvation. I'm already saved. Why?
Because Jesus was crucified. I don't have to do anything else, He already did whatever I am supposed to do.
All my sinful reactions is already gone, no problem, you know, because he suffered, you know, very convenient sort of philosophy. And the same sort of mentality sometimes comes to our
mind because we take it for granted that we don't have to do much. It's just, you know, if we mumble something every morning religiously, then by the you know strength of this we will be liberated.
But no, specifically it is said here, Kalena, and Kalena basically means that certain processes have to take place in your mind. Which is not an easy thing.
Ultimately, what Nrishim Hadev is saying here is that as Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, is that you have to change your consciousness or your reactions to the material life and material circumstances you are living in.
That's exactly what Śrīla Prabhupāda explains when he says that liberation means that you are not reacting as you are programmed to react. And we're all programmed to react. We all like happiness.
Uh is there anyone who doesn't like happiness by any chance? Uh I like, you know. Definitely, very much. Does anyone who just, you know, happiness and distress, it's it's a nice philosophy, isn't it?
You know, we should take happiness and distress in the same way. Very nice philosophy, definitely. Prabhupada calls it expert management of our material life. There is no doubt about it.
If we develop this, but there is a big if uh in the beginning of this statement. If we develop this thing, then we are liberated.
And now moreover, he cites the second verse from Bhagavad-gītā, from the second chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is even more emphatic about this. In the first verse, he says, Sama Dukkha Sukhesh.
One is equal in happiness and distress. In the second verse, he says, when you are not moved during the suffering.
And Prahlāda Mahārāja actually is the best and most beautiful and most vivid example of somebody who is liberated because his reactions are not programmed.
Understanding karma and offensive chanting
What I want to say is that what is karma-bandha? Bondage of karma. Karma-bandhana. Karma-bandhana is the programmed reactions in our mind.
And unless we change these reactions, unless we drastically change these reactions by the means of hearing, by the dint of hearing and chanting.
Unless we change it, we cannot claim that I'm free and saved and my salvation is guaranteed. If our reaction is the same good old, or how you say bad old reactions.
If I'm very elated if something really happened, there is great problem. Oh Mataji. Or if I'm really put down by certain circumstances
or even slightest provocations from material nature, it basically means that there is something wrong in my practice of Krishna consciousness.
In other words, that I'm not really chanting and hearing offenselessly, and therefore the promised effects of śravaṇaṁ and kīrtanaṁ do not take place. That's the only explanation.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was very emphatic about this, and he actually said many times that you know, yes salvation is guaranteed and sometimes we like to remember the Ajāmila story nice story isn't it you know very nice story.
You can just live long life and uh do the sinful activities and then at the end of life, at the very end of life, just you happen to call your son Nārāyaṇa. And you can name many of your sons.
You know Govinda, Mukunda, so many. You know, but it's not. Because there is some conditions and we really have to work.
And there is a very beautiful story from Śrīla Prabhupāda's life about this. One of first Prabhupāda's disciples was doing a lot of service and he was actually the main and the first editor
in chief of Śrīla Prabhupāda's Back to Godhead magazine when he came to America. And then at the end of the 60s, he kind of drifted away and became very much entangled in material life again and in sense gratification.
And then in the middle of the 70s, he again wrote to Śrīla Prabhupāda. And he said, Śrīla Prabhupāda, I want to join back Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but on one condition.
I am ready to resume my editing service to your Back to Godhead magazine, all nice and everything is fine. There's only one condition. I can't promise to you that I will follow this no illicit sex etc. rule. rule.
Well, he didn't say outdated, but basically that's what he meant. You know, I can't promise this. In other words, I will do it. I will be engaged in. Śrīla Prabhupāda read it and didn't say anything.
So Trivikrama Mahārāja at that time was in the room of Śrīla Prabhupāda and he was doing his massage and he asked, because he knew this devotee,
and he asked, Oh Śrīla Prabhupāda, how is he doing? Meaning, how's this devotee doing? And you know, Prabhupāda looked at him and with great force, intently said to him, he is going to hell. He is going to hell.
That was Prabhupāda's statement. Shocking, isn't it? It doesn't match with Ajāmila's story, right? Because specifically Yamarāja said don't bring to me somebody who was editor-in-chief of Back to Godhead magazine.
Doesn't really match in one sense. But again, Prabhupada wants to make a point. If you are offensive and if you're willingly committing the sins on the strengths of the holy name, it basically means that you are offensive.
And the story of Ajāmila doesn't apply to you. It's not your case, my dear sir, unfortunately. So don't try to hide behind the story. It's not the case.
Analysis of faith and sinful actions
Our case should be conscientiously and strictly following the rules of scriptures and try to cultivate the holy name. Of course, immediately I can already hear the objection to this statement.
Because Kṛṣṇa Himself says, api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ. Isn't it another nice verse from the scriptures? He has to be considered a sādhu.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-sandarbha gives a very beautiful and profound explanation to this statement of Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā.
He says, when Krishna says api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya- bhāk, he means somebody who has, who has, how do you say it, conventional faith. He says this person does not really have proper faith.
Proper faith means śāstrīya-śraddhā, and śāstrīya-śraddhā means śāstra- artha-viśvāsa. Complete trust in the statements of śāstra.
And he says, how come if you have the complete trust in the statements of śāstra, you still api cet su-durācāro, you still commit all kinds of sinful activities? There is no way, there is no chance of it.
If you properly understand the meaning of Shastra, Shastra Artha, then there is no chance for you to commit sinful activities.
Of course, Krishna after that says Kshipram Bhavati Dharmatma, very soon he will become righteous. Why? Because this is the starting point.
But still he says very specifically, Jiva Goswami says, his faith is not properly situated. It's, it's conventional faith. It's, it's samāja-śraddhā. It's not paramarthic shraddha. It's not a transcendental shraddha.
It's just shraddha which we get in the society, you know, somebody is doing something and I'm I don't say fixed devotee, but I'm stubborn. I don't say fixtub devoty, but I'm stubborn. I just want to stick to it.
It's good. There's no doubt about it. Therefore, Krishna says in the next verse, kṣipram bhavati dharmātmā, very soon he will become right, righteous. But the point is that there should be an evolutionary process.
You cannot just be satisfied with this beginning stages and pacify yourself that I am already saved. Therefore, specifically, very clearly, Nrsimhadeva says kālena, after some time he will become free from bondage.
Provided he is doing it properly. Because if he is not applying endeavors to do it properly, then this purification will not take place. Lord Hari will not take your anarthas. He's Hari.
He can take all your anarthas if you just once chant Hare. Not even need for Krishna. Just Hare is enough.
The innate power of holy syllables
Because if you really hold these anarthas, if you stick to these anarthas, Hari will say, what can I do? He doesn't want to be free from his anarthas. He wants to continue this offensive sort of attitude. Therefore, this kalena basically means that while doing this, we have to also be conscientious what has to take place in our heart?
There is another very important and meaningful statement from the sixth Canto from the story of Ajāmila. Where Yamarāja, while explaining this the purport of this story, he says very interesting thing.
We all know this element of this story, very important element of this story is that the holy name is much more powerful than any other means of purification.
It's much more powerful than any vratas or any atonements which are prescribed in 20 Dharma Shastras.
In the purport of this verse, which I'm referring to, Śrīla Prabhupāda says it's 11th verse from the second chapter of the sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
In the Purport of this verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda says that yes, there is 20 dharma shastras, and all dharma shastras, one after another, they prescribe different ways of purification.
How to be purified, what to do to purify yourself from the sinful reactions. But this specific verse, 11th verse, it said that all these vratas are not effective. They're not really doing the good job.
Uh whereas uh Hari Nama Padair U Dahritis. Hari Nama Padair uh just the syllables of the Holy Name. Udakri Tys. What they do, they're much more effective than all these vratas. Why?
Because taduta mashloka guno uhalaambakam guna upalambakam. Why the syllables of the holy name so powerful? Even if it's syllables.
Specifically, Śrīla Prabhupāda and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, while commenting on this verse, they say that even if you're not so attentively chant the holy name. That's why it is said Padai.
Padai means padas, means syllables of the Holy Name. So even if you're not so attentive in chanting the Holy Name. Still, Yadha Harid Nama Padar Udahrit.
It means that the Holy Name is more powerful than any other Vratas which are there mentioned by Manu and Parāśara Muni and so many other authors of Dharma Shastras. And why?
Because it is said here, taduta mashloka gunopalambakam.
The importance of remembrance while chanting
Because the syllables of holy name.
Listen, and this is very important. And this is exactly how Śrīla Prabhupāda explains this verse in one of his lectures. Very important statement he makes. He says the syllables of this of the Holy Name are very purifying
and so powerful because they remind you about the qualities of the Lord. Guna Upalambakam. Because they have the imprint of the qualities of the Lord.
And Prabhupāda, while explaining this particular verse, Taduta musloka gunapalambakam. He gave a beautiful lecture on this verse somewhere in India here.
And he says that Ajāmila, what was the saving grace of Ajāmila? Why Ajāmila was usually we hear that because he just chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa.
But Prabhupāda explains in an amazing way in this lecture, that uh why this chanting of Nārāyaṇa was so effective, of course, we know it was Nāmābhāsa and so on and so forth, but Prabhupāda said because also he had a background.
He was a brahmacārī in gurukula, and he was a very nice brahmacārī in gurukula, and he was studying under his spiritual master, and he was learning about Kṛṣṇa and Bhagavad-gītā and Krishna's activities.
And therefore, Śrīla Prabhupāda specifically says in this lecture, while he was chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa, the qualities of the Supreme Lord would come and would flash in his mind.
He would remember about Mother Yaśodā and the relationship of Mother Yaśodā with Kṛṣṇa, that's what Śrīla Prabhupāda says.
He would remember about Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa, how Kṛṣṇa was preaching to Arjuna and how Arjuna was receiving his instructions and how he was freed from all this māyā which he was putting in and so on so forth.
Prabhupāda specifically says that just because he was not only chanting Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa in a mechanical way. He was also remembering about the Lord.
And Prabhupāda after that saying this he says just try to understand this. In other words, it's not so easy to understand this thing because again the tendency is that we want to conveniently chant in a very mechanical way.
Without understanding who is Kṛṣṇa. Why we're calling for Kṛṣṇa? And you know, and why this whole process?
Approaching devotional service as a science
This is a science. Śrīla Prabhupāda very often would make this point that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is science, it's not religion.
In other words, science means that we are consciously doing what we're doing and we should understand what should take place while we are doing this. Not just rely on the strength of ritual itself. Religion means we have rituals, we're doing everything properly, I'm fine,
Prabhu, I'm chanting sixteen rounds, get lost. You know, this is our speech towards Yamaraj. You have nothing to do with me, but no.
You know, science means we have to know the science, we have to know the laws which do this, and we have to understand why we're doing, how we're doing.
And therefore, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva in this particular verse, He specifically says that you know after some time while remembering about your past times by changing your prayers and prayers means consciously again, not mechanically.
Chanting prayers means in a prayerful mood. If I'm just chanting it as a brāhmaṇa's chanting all these Vedic mantras without, you know, it's a nice music, nice sound to hear, but no meaning is involved.
Then uh there is no point uh actually in these activities. Or definitely there is a point. There is a good result, or there is no you know definitely there is no loss and no diminution in this path.
But still, you know, the the point and the stress of this is different.
And Prabhupada says in the same lecture, another amazing thing, which actually I wanted to share with you because this is an extremely important statement.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, immediately after saying this, just try to understand this. That we have to really understand who is Kṛṣṇa, why we are calling Him.
Śrīla Prabhupāda immediately after that says that offensive chanting means that the form of the Lord, that you remember the form of the Lord. And again, isn't it an amazing statement what Śrīla Prabhupāda says?
That he basically explains what does it mean or by which criteria you can understand that you are chanting offenselessly? If the form of the Lord is not coming automatically in your mind.
And by saying remembering he doesn't mean definitely doesn't mean that you have to really artificially try to kind of, you know. No. He basically means if your mind is pure enough,
then by chanting that automatically the form of the Lord will be reflected in your mind. That's the Siddhanta, that's the meaning of the uh scriptural statements.
When they say that by the sound, by śravaṇaṁ and kīrtanaṁ of the holy name, we purify our mind,
and when the mind is purified sufficiently, when anartha-nivṛtti really takes place, when all the anarthas are gone, then the form of the Lord is reflected in this antaḥ-karaṇa.
That's a very important statement that Śrīla Prabhupāda, this statement is repeatedly made by different ācāryas and Śrīla Prabhupāda again repeats
Gradual stages of devotional practice
this in this beautiful lecture on this verse from the sixth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where he says that you know offenseless chanting means uh form of the Lord is there in your mind.
And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, I wanted to share with you this statement where he very beautifully explains this gradual process of purification which should take place.
If you do it offenselessly, if you're really applying consciousness to get rid of the fences and not doing it in a mechanical way. One second. This is the uh 256 uh Anucheda of uh of Bhakti Sandarbha by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī.
Very interestingly, he basically says the same thing which Śrīla Prabhupāda said. Here it is. Prathamam nam nach shravanam antach karana should dyartam apeksh. He says, first thing which you need to do.
Apexyam necessary to do. Prathamam, the first thing, nam naqshravanam antak karana, sudhyartam.
First you have to apply nam, the holy name of the Lord, should the artum so that your antak karana, your heart, your internal organ, your consciousness, your condition consciousness, would be, should the artam would be purified.
Then he says: what happens when the antakarana or the heart of a living being is sufficiently purified. Shu de cha antachkarani rupa sravanene tat udaya yogyatabavati.
He says, and that's exactly why I said, that this is not just artificial attempts uh forcefully trying to forcefully you know meditate on the form of the Lord.
Because uh Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says, Śuddhe 'ntaḥ-karaṇe rūpa-śravaṇena tadudai When your mind is sufficiently purified, then you become yogya. You become qualified to hear about the form.
And then when you hear about the form, then the next process will take place. Rupa Shravanena Tad Udaya Yogata.
Tad Udaya Yogyata means the qualification appears or manifests in your mind to hear about the form and the hearing will bring the form into you. The mistake, very severe mistake which usually many
devotees do, they they think again that you know sravanam is an artificial process.
Sravanam is not an artificial process. Shravanam is the real contact of the mind with the Lord in the form of his name, and which is possible only if the mind is not offensive.
And therefore, next statement which Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says, Samyakud, when the form becomes samyak, complete, when your mind becomes eligible to completely have the form. Upalabdi.
Upalabdi means the mind has the ability to completely keep, contain the form within itself. So samyak udite ca rūpī guṇānāṁ sphuranam sorry sphuranam sampadya te then uh you will start having this uh guṇānāṁ sphuranam.
You will start remembering about the qualities of the Lord. The sphūrti, the flashes of the goodness of the Lord will come to your mind.
And as Prabhupada explains in this lecture which I referred to, he says that you know you chant the holy name and at the same time you remember the qualities of the Lord, how nice he is, how kind he is, how he gives complete protection to everyone.
Due to again, purification of the heart. If the purification of the heart really takes place, then it will be in a very spontaneous and natural way will take place in your mind.
And then after that he says, Tataś Teṣu Nāma Rūpa Guṇeṣu Tat Pārikareṣu. He says when you finished with this, when you're successfully over this stage of your spiritual development.
And again, the very point here in this section of Bhakti Sandarbha, is that the spiritual development is gradual. It takes time.
And you have to understand what has to take place in your heart while you're chanting and doing this. Then he says, after that.
After these three things are established within your heart very firmly. Nama, Rupa and Gun of the Lord of Bhagavān.
Tat Pārikareṣu, Ca Samyak Sphuriteṣv Evalīlānāṁ Sphuranam, Śiṣṭu Bhavat Abhipreyeta Sādhana. Again, as I said, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī writes this to stress this point that sadhana is a gradual process. sādhana-krama.
There is a certain sequence or certain uh certain you know it's a it's a certain process which has to take place and
then uh he says when these three things, three first things, Nama, Rupa and Guna, are established, then you will see the Parikaras, the eternal associates of the Lord, and then only līlā-smaraṇaṁ.
Whereas very often devotees they you know they listen about this and then they go to Rādhā-kuṇḍa to do līlā-smaraṇaṁ. Once one disciple asked Prabhupāda, Prabhupāda, can I live in Radhakunda? Prabhupāda said no.
He said, why? Because there is a lot of monkeys there anyway. There is no lack of monkeys, what is the use? You just yet another monkey lived there, is there is no there is no
love, there is no point of it, there is no benefit of it. Because again, yogyatā, the qualification is there, the adhikāra should be there. And the adhikāra is śravaṇam. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam.
If you do nāma-kīrtana, if you do nāma-smaraṇa, if you do nāma-śravaṇa, if you listen the holy name, if you chant the holy name properly with the proper attitude, and if you remember the holy name ultimately, then this yogyatā, this qualification will come to your heart in a very natural and spontaneous way,
and you will go through this path. And anartha-nivṛtti will take place. But how it will take place again, only if we're willing, only if we understand.
If we have this very sinful mentality that I will chant my holy name and at the same time somewhere, you know, under the table, I will commit my sinful activities. Little sinful activities. It's not so gross. Just little.
It means that uh there is no proper understanding of who is Krishna and what we're doing, why we want to him. Why we want to come to Him.
Differentiating spiritual happiness from material dualities
There is no proper understanding of the whole process of devotional service which starts with śravaṇam and kīrtanam, but which will only continue with śravaṇam and kīrtanam, and śravaṇam and kīrtanam will bring its promised results only if we do it properly and offenselessly. And saying this, I will finish my class. Thank you very much.
Yes, there is no time for questions. I I don't know. Maybe one, I'll repeat your question because I'm loud enough that I can. Thank you for the lecture.
My friend told me that you have done a lot of scientific research on the holy name. Therefore, a lot of stuff was technically very high, and I have some small doubts.
You mentioned the Bhagavad-gītā verse, sukheṣv anavagacchata sukheṣu vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodha. So does that apply only to the happiness, material happiness and sadness?
Or, for example, when we receive blessings from a sannyāsī, we feel elated today. The question is, is this verse from Bhagavad-gītā? I don't want sukha, the happiness, and uh I'm not disturbed by the sadness is coming, dukkha is coming.
Specifically, it is said here, sukha and duḥkha. And sukha and duḥkha and material duality.
When we speak about spiritual happiness it's called ananda and there is no opposite to ānanda, of course, there is near ānanda, but it's not exactly the uh you know some essential thing, it's near ānanda, it's just the lack or absence of ānanda.
So, but when we speak sukha and duḥkha, sukha and duḥkha means material happiness and material distress. And we have to really develop proper attitudes of the word sukha and dukkha if we want to be liberated.
Because again of karma means the certain program, the reaction on sukha and duḥkha, material circumstances.
And if we are not really indifferent to material circumstances, it means it means that we don't really, you know, have so much faith in God. The faith is not so strong because again the beginning the beginning
qualification of devotion is the example of Prahlāda Mahārāja and his reaction to materials, he uh, of course, uh, I think he didn't like when he was thrown in the fire, but uh it's not that he was really happy that I'm being thrown in the fire, but at the same time he was not disturbed.
Overcoming programmed karmic reactions
He was not so much disturbed because for him, his faith in Rṣikeśa or in Lord Krishna, actually, was much stronger than all this happiness and this distress. It was just very insignificant.
Mahārāja, you mentioned uh programmed reactions in this particular case. That we have programmed reactions. Yes.
So, uh, Mahārāja, is that happy because of the three modes of nature, uh, or is that our faulty desire, and how to stop reacting, uh, programmed reaction? It is programmed because it's the program of our karma.
We experience some happiness which we liked, and it's very strongly recorded in our mind, in our chitta, that this is good. You know, pizza is good.
You know, if you're born in Italy, you probably have very strong pizza saṁskāras. Or if you are born in Māyāpur, you may as well. Very powerful pizza, sometimes, and, or
some some things which you experienced and you didn't like and again you recorded it with great shakti, with great power in your mind, and then you carry this program in your next life.
And unless you understand this is all futile, then I actually, this sukha and duḥkha of this life doesn't have so much meaning. This meaning is illusory. We only, you know, it's only our perception.
Only within our mind we think that this is so great. It's not so great. Pizza is great, but not so great. You know if we really analytically apply our power of discrimination, we understand.
Ultimately, subject is also a case, not a problem, or chapati is also not bad. So if we just develop this through the understanding of Shastra and you know analyzing of it.
It's actually very interesting because again in uh in uh Bhakti Sandarbha Jiva Goswami gives a very beautiful definition of smaranam. He says, smaranam means anusandhāna. Mānasa anusandhāna.
And literally it means that smaranam means uh anusandhāna means very minute investigation of your mind or minutely applying the mind.
And basically, it means also that this minute investigation of minute application of the mind should be there when we study shastras. Then it means smaranam.
Otherwise, it's not smaranam if you just very superficially kind of browse through through the statements.
Smaranam is a certain ability and a certain quality which comes and this is again mānasa anusandhāna, minute investigation with the mind. So reflection or all these kinds of things.
Anyway, thank you very much and till late. Absolutely first class. Substance, humor, reflection, a challenge. Fantastic. In in your mind i i in your mouth it's very meaningful. I don't squander praise lightly.
I wanna tell you a quick story. We used to go across from US to Canada with Prabhupada's books. They stopped us one time at Customs and they said, No, you have to pay tax on this. We said they're religious.
They said, religious books, no tax. He said, let us, we'll send it to Ottawa to the Capitol and analyze. Six months later we got a letter back. He said these books are not religious. They're scientific.
And Governor read the letter to Prabhupada. He loved it. So thank you. Nice class. Thank you.
Importance of hearing from pure sources
What is the what's the number you were referring to Silla for one lecture? Uh six two eleven. Six two eleven. Chapter six. Okay, six two eleven. What I have one question on the Sudajanma. Basically we are from Iscan.
We are conventionally, we are not conventional phase. We have Shasti Orange phase only. But even the Shastic Orange phase big big, struggle to get out of Nagas.
So sometimes I uh afraid when think of Sri Madhvacharyas, he says Sabhava Dhur Nikama. He says uh contamination which we had is not to Vishyas or to Gunas is intrinsic to solar.
So however hard we struggle, even on based on Shastas also, we
are not able to get out sh because it we don't have a real desire of uh And that's where our philosophy is uh differ differs from Madhvacharya's philosophy because we says that Guna Vishaya is ultimately superficial and it can be purged out from our consciousness
by sadhasanga and Shravanam and Kirtanam. So that's the difference. But some intensity should be applied in this process, not just nothing.
So that means only a few uh sources come down which means uh should be only yeah it's not easy it's not it's not simplistic it's doable but it's not simplistic Krishna Maraj, Krishna Raj, thank you so much.
I wish to I ask you any questions. Bharash, uh do you want to ask you? Yes sure.
But be quick because I have to be somewhere Mayaj I'm going to ask that not everyone is on the high platform. And if we get to know and almost most of the people there committing sins.
So if we have to listen their lectures or if we can consider example of cases where the person people are practicing their sadikas and they are not so much elevated and they have to stop committing sins.
So when we hear from such a speakers the cons it uh and we have heard that the consciousness is affected b uh f by whom you listen to? So how to deal with such a situation? See?
One thing is that Prabhupada established Bhagavatam class and he didn't make very high bar on somebody who's who gives the lectures.
But you're right, and we have to be conscious about this, and therefore we even if sometimes some speaker is not of the highest platform, we have to neutralize the effects of hearing him by hearing somebody from pure source. Because at the same time Prabhupada many times stressed that you need to hear from the pure source.
So uh because it's a custom in our tradition that we come to the lecture, we should come to the lecture, we shouldn't make it as in our attitude, your simple I will not come to your lectures.
But at the same time we have to sufficiently hear from pure sources. Okay? I am sadhananda nitananda. Sometimes my mind disturbing thousands of demons coming. Thank you.
Sometimes my mind, thousand, thousand demons coming my mind. You're not alone. Stop it, can I ask the question? Yeah, just quickly because I have to go.
Ajamila second chapter, I think nine and ten, that from the first time Ajamila chanted the holy name, all his sins were removed and that all the reactions that came after were like like they were like that's true. That's true.
Without that's true. So my question is who falls in the category of Ajamila because it seemed with him it wasn't like a gradual process, at least to become liberated he had to go to Haridwar afterwards, but it was, you know, free so you know who falls in the category of Ajamila nowadays? Hardly any because we are offensive, uh, hardly any, we are offensive, we committed so much offenses,